GOLDEN LIONS are cubs no more!

Set to seize the championship in the 2nd TEAM Philippines National Tourism and Hospitality Skills Virtual Convention and Competition, the Pangasinan State University Lingayen Campus buckled up after qualifying in the Preliminary Competition as announced last March 24 (Wednesday).

Six out of six skills categories joined by College of the Hospitality Management (CHM), made it in the Top 20 ensuring that they will be showcasing their prowess and competitiveness live, virtually.

In the preliminary competition, the participants in the Food Vlogging, Tour Package, Mix and Style, Airline Safety and Demonstration, Tour Guiding and Digital MICE Planning submitted video and document entries via electronic mail last March 26 to the organizing committee.

“We are happy that all our entries made it to the final round, because among all the public and private colleges and universities all over the Philippines offering hospitality and tourism programs, we are selected as one to be included in the Top 20.” said by Dr. Billy Festijo, CHM faculty member and Coordinating Head of the campus for TEAM Philippines.

For now, PSU Golden Lion team is working hard in preparation to the virtual demonstration and interview with the guidance of their coaches spearheaded by their College Dean, Dr. Dexter R. Buted.

In the six categories, participants were: Marinel Arias for Food Vlogging; Je-ann de Vera and Cristone Ramos for Tour Package; Christian Lito Caacbay for Mix and Style; Danah Karenina Saringan and Rizwan Ali Syed for Airline Safety and Demonstration; Starlyn Flores and Ma. Frenica dela Cruz for Tour Guiding; and Mary Joy Untaran, Jennifer Perez, Rosella Reyes, April Rose Campos and Jobert Calado for Digital MICE Planning.

“Qualifying for National Competitions such as this, means that our instruction, facilities and competencies of both our faculty and students can compete with other leading universities in Manila and other parts of the country,” Dr. Festijo said.

He added that the said competition means also that the university is true to its mission of developing innovative and competent individuals who meets the needs of the industry- which is a proof of their students’ creativity and resourcefulness even in this difficult situation.

For past year, the college has been notable for reaping awards and recognitions from various competitions which include Over-all Presidential Award and Over-all Culinary Skills Cup Winner in the COHREP National Competition; Champion in the Goldilocks Cake Decorating Challenge; Champion in the Uong-Balat Regional Fest, among others.

For the Tourism Educators and Movers (TEAM) Philippines Competition, this is the first time for the Golden Lion Team to join and so, the college is looking forward to set history for their first win.

Moreover, all of the participating schools who made it to the top 20 were given a pre-orientation on March 28 (Sunday) for the final competition to make clarifications on the guidelines.

Embracing the theme, “MICE Digitalization: Embracing Challenges and Opportunities”, the final round is set on April 10, 2021 and will be aired via Zoom platform.

The Team Philippines is an organization which aims to provide the necessary assistance, training and service to the Higher Education Institutions offering tourism and hospitality management program for the growth and career development of the faculty and students. /mmpd