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USF Hospitality Student Wins Alliance Scholarship

USF’s Ketrin Gavani was among several hospitality students recently to win a scholarship from the Tampa Bay Hospitality Alliance.

Gavani, a senior in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the Muma College of Business, was awarded the $1,000 scholarship during the alliance’s “ExTravelganza” event for culinary and hospitality management students on Oct. 8.

“I was really happy because I wasn’t expecting this,” the 21-year-old Clearwater resident said. “Scholarships can be quite competitive.”

Gavani said she applied for the scholarship, writing a short essay, at the urging of interim Dean Cihan Cobanoglu and was floored to receive an email in September saying she was among the statewide winners.

The Tampa Bay Hospitality Alliance is a partnership between the Hillsborough County Hotel/Motel Association and Pinellas chapter of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. The group has provided annual scholarships to Florida students for 29 years.

Gavani said the subsidy will help pay tuition costs as she completes her final year of college. After that, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in hotel management before launching a career in hospitality, following in her father’s footsteps.

A chief engineer, her father worked at Marriott hotels for many years and often brought his daughter along during site visits. It was during these visits when Gavani developed an interest in hospitality, she said.

After graduate school, she hopes to land a position at a top hotel in Miami and then a corporate position at a large hospitality company. Next summer, she plans to visit Italy as part of a study abroad program.

“We are very proud of Ketrin and her accomplishments,” Cobanoglu said. “It is even more meaningful this year as we now offer the hospitality degree on the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses, in addition to Sarasota-Manatee, and the scholarship comes from the Tampa Bay Hospitality Alliance.”