Evan offered hotel role after photo appeared in the Chronicle!

DKIT Ashbourne hospitality student is management trainee

A COLLEGE graduate whose photograph appeared in the Meath Chronicle after his graduation ceremony last year received a place on a training hospitality course as a result of his photograph appearing in his local newspaper.

Evan Kane from Ashbourne was spotted in the Chronicle receiving his President’s Prize by management in The Raddison Blu, Golden Lane, in Dublin, and tracking him down through the schools office, they offered him a manager trainee scheme, to run alongside his final year studies this year.

Evan confesses that while studying for his Leaving Certificate in Ashbourne Community School, he wasn’t even considering submitting a CAO. He vaguely thought he might like interior design, as all his favourite subjects at school were more practical and creative. One of the other reasons CAO wasn’t playing a major part in his plans was, he had a part time job in a pub that he loved, and he was toying with the idea of staying in the hospitality business after school and maybe opening up his own bar and restaurant one day. That was until he had a meeting with his career guidance teacher, Kathleen Rahilly. She encouraged Evan to research courses that would capitalise on what he loved about his bar job – meeting new people, customer service, and hospitality.

“After that meeting with my career guidance teacher it dawned on me that I could get a qualification in something I genuinely loved, so I started to do a bit of research and went to as many open days in colleges that had hospitality related courses," the Ashbourne lad says.

While at DkIT’s Open Day, Evan met with some of the lecturing staff and took a guided tour of the facilities and ‘fell in love with the campus and the staff.’ He was confident from day one, that Dundalk was the place that he would be happiest in.

“I know everyone says the small class sizes and access to the lecturers is important, but I knew that environment was exactly what I needed.”

In September 2020, as the country was in the grip of Covid restrictions, Evan started his Level 7 BA in Hospitality Management. Three years later, Evan graduated from his Level 7, winning the President's Prize for distinguished academic achievement in his final examinations and is currently studying for his Level 8 add on.

“I have loved everything about my courses, and I can see how relevant all my modules are, as I use them all the time in my day job, from finance to industry analytics. It never seemed like studying because I loved every aspect of my course. At the end of my Level 7, I decided to push myself a little more for the Level 8, I am certainly being tested this year but I am very happy," he says.

Evan is energised about what the future holds.

"I was always a bit of a home bird, and I suppose Covid removed the desire to travel, but now I realise that I could go anywhere in the world with this qualification, and I am excited about that."