Meet the recipients of the NEWH UK hospitality scholarships 2024

Held at the Sea Containers Hotel London on October 24, NEWH UK’s Roundtable event kicked off an action packed day with industry leaders attending the Roundtable to share their tips and insights to inspire and inform the next generation of hospitality maestros, who, in turn, were given the chance to quiz the experts.

Throughout the day, talks were given and the cache of experts made their way around each table so every attendee had a chance to chat with them. The experts included individuals from hotel branding, operations, design, hospitality management, manufacturing, and education backgrounds, some of whom feature on this year’s Brit List Awards shortlist or are previous winners.

The full list of experts in attendance: Chris Turner, Founder of Chris Turner Procurement; Massimo Barbera, Head of Design at Lupoi Design; Arun Rana, Design Director at Accor Hotels; Carolynne Shenton, Director at Studio Mica; Stefano Squecco, General Manager at St. James’s Hotel & Club; Medhat Nehad Seada, Founder of Visionary Designer Archiform London Ltd; Sam Hall, Design Director IHG Europe; and Holly Hallam, Managing Director at Design LSM.

Kathryn Quinn, President of NEWH UK, Senior Designer at Goddard Littlefair, and Brit List Award 2024 finalist, summed up the afternoon perfectly: “With scholarship, education and business networking at the forefront of everything we do, the NEWH Annual Roundtable event provides an opportunity for every facet of the hospitality industry to come together.”

Image caption: Kathryn Quinn | Image credit: NEWH

As we headed into the evening following a thoroughly fulfilling day, NEWH UK’s Annual Fundraiser and Scholarship Awards began and the Sea Containers set the scene brilliantly for what turned out to be an inspiring and pleasantly emotional evening; upon entrance, its thoughtful quote board in the hotel lobby reminded all to ‘never give up on your dreams’… an ethic that this year’s hospitality scholarship recipients undoubtedly share.

This year was an exciting one for the NEWH UK scholarship board, chaired by Timorous Beasties’ Commercial Lead Kate Mitchell, as the organisation had successfully reached out to universities in Scotland and Wales for the first time and, alongside, had organised for a fourth scholarship to be introduced — this time supporting the hotel management sector.

Image caption: (l-r) Anne Golden, VP of Ops UK North America and GM Pan Pacific London, Joanna Savage, David Baldry, Group MD of Hypnos | Image credit: NEWH

Kindly presented by Hypnos Group Managing Director David Baldry, the first ever hotel management award was deservedly given to Joanna Savage of the University of Gloucestershire, who showed great passion and ambition for a well-rounded future in hospitality within her entry essay. Regarding what she plans to use the scholarship funding for, Savage said that she would like to undertake further educational courses to develop a more inclusive hospitality environment, following an encounter she had where she was unable to communicate with a deaf client.

Speaking of her day spent with NEWH UK, Savage continued: “It was a pleasure to be a part of the NEWH fundraiser and round table event, hearing from people in the industry was an amazing opportunity. As this was the first time the Hotel Management scholarship was awarded, I can’t wait to see how this will develop in the future.” 

The three interior design scholarships were then presented by event sponsors Cruise Ship Interiors, Dornbracht, and Lutron, to recipients Sofia Calestru of Middlesex University, Song Kee Lee of Northumbria University, and Pamela Sanchez Rodriguez of Kingston School of Art. Each of whom presented a completely unique and mesmerising design to the judging panel, based on a project brief to design a hospitality space on a rooftop in Marrakesh — in just one month. 

Remarking on this year’s winners, Kate Mitchell said: “The calibre, creativity, and commitment shown by all of our winning students is second to none. I am delighted to celebrate their success with everyone here tonight. It’s great to see that the future of our sector is in safe hands.” 

Upon accepting their awards, the interior design scholarship winners were asked questions such as what got them involved in interior design and what would be their dream project to work on, and answers ranged from The Sims video game to designing a space station on Jupiter (respectively).

Image credit: NEWH

Listening to the next generation discuss their hopes and ambitions for their own futures and for the future of the industry in general was tear-jerking, and doubtlessly moved even the more seasoned members of our industry…

Asked what this award has meant for them, Sofia Calestru said: “This event was an incredible experience that allowed me to connect with a lot of professionals and explore a range of perspectives on the design industry. I’m truly grateful to have been a part of it!”

Song Kee Lee added: “This marked a milestone—a big step toward the industry. The encouragement and insights shared by professionals opened my eyes to future possibilities, filling me with excitement for what lies ahead.” 

And Pamela Sanchez said: “It was incredibly enriching to meet so many people coming from different backgrounds and expertise. I will forever treasure this event, and I am so grateful for everyone who joined.”

Main image credit: NEWH