My Journey
I've lived my career the way I live everywhere else, a little bit far from home, and always paying attention.
I grew up in the Philippines and studied Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at De La Salle University, thinking, like a lot of new graduates, that I had a clear map ahead of me. Life had a different route in mind. My first real job out of university took me straight to Bahrain, where I worked as a server in a restaurant. It was a different culture, a different pace, and a different kind of pressure. The kind where you learn to read a room in seconds and keep your composure no matter how the shift is going. Working abroad in the Middle East, fresh out of school, taught me adaptability in a way no classroom could.
From there, I went back home to the Philippines to work in Membership services at Resorts World Manila. Coming home with that international experience already under my belt gave me a different kind of confidence. I didn't know it yet, but that job planted the seed for everything that came after: I liked people, I liked solving problems on the fly, and I liked being the person others could count on when things got busy.
Eventually, my path led me to Canada, where I've built the career I have today. Determined to hone my hospitality career, I pursued my Diploma in Hospitality Management in Vancouver while working part-time professionally as a cook to support myself along the way. Balancing kitchen shifts with hospitality studies taught me an appreciation for precision, timing, and keeping a calm head when ten things are happening at once, an instinct that still shows up in how I run events today. Once I completed my diploma, I started working my way through some of the city's most recognized hotel brands, from front-of-house guest experience roles at JW Marriott Parq Vancouver and The Douglas Autograph Collection, to coordinating Air France crew logistics, to eventually moving into events and conference services.
Now, as a Conference Services Specialist at Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront, I get to bring all of it together: the client-facing warmth from years of guest service, the operational precision from managing budgets and BEOs, and the creative instinct to make an event feel memorable, not just executed. I handle everything from client communication and billing accuracy to onsite problem-solving when a plan needs to change on the fly and I still get a genuine thrill out of turning a blank ballroom into something beautiful.
What ties my whole career together, across three countries and more industries than I probably should admit to, is a simple habit: I never stop learning. That's part of why I'm currently working towards a Computer Systems Diploma at British Columbia Institute of Technology, not because I'm leaving hospitality, but because I want to bring a sharper, more technical edge to how I solve problems in it. I'm the kind of person who picks up a new skill because it's interesting, not because someone told me to.
Outside of work, I unwind the same way I like to work through a challenge, with focus and a bit of strategy, whether that's lining up a shot at the pool table or getting lost in a video game after a long day of working.
If there's a thread running through my story, it's that I've never been afraid to start over in a new place, learn a new system, or pick up a new skill. Hospitality found me early, and it's kept me because it rewards exactly curiosity, adaptability, and a genuine care for people. I'm excited to see where it takes me next.