Manipal: The Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA), MAHE, the top hospitality institute in the country, celebrated the Annual Awards Ceremony on Monday here at Fortune Inn Valley View with lot of enthusiasm. The faculty and students chipped in to make the evening truly wonderful and enjoyable.

The Principal Prof Parvadhavardhini Gopalakrishnan made a fine presentation of the institute’s annual report, the students who excelled were honoured and, The ITC Distinguished Alumnus Award 2018 presented to Ms Sarina Menezes of the fourth course. She is the Vice-President – Sales and Marketing, Khanna Hotels Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai.

After chief guest for the evening, Mrs. Benita Sharma, Area Manager, Golden Triangle & General Manager – Sheraton New Delhi Hotel, Hotels Division, ITC Limited delivered her speech, over half an hour was set aside for a truly entertaining cultural performance by the staff and students. It was truly entertaining.

Present on the occasion were; Mrs Vasanti R Pai, wife of Chancellor, Dr Ramdas M Pai, Mr. Rajen Padukone, Group President, Manipal Education & Medical Group, Mrs Poornima Baliga, Pro Vice Chancellor (Health Sciences) and Dr Narayana Sabhahit, Registrar MAHE.

Some of the award winners were: ITC Fellowship Awardees – Malshe Rohit Sanjay, Deepak D Viswanath, Darshana Gopinath and Pooja R Ankolekar; Chef Vikas Khanna Rolling Trophy – Rashmi G R; Best Outgoing student of BHM – Darshana Gopinath, Best Outgoing student of BA (Culinary Arts) – Amritha Ravi, Best Outgoing Student of MSc Dietetics and Applied Nutrition – Rhea Katherine Dsouza, Best Outgoing Student of MSc Hospitality and Tourism Management – Athira Rajagopal V. and Best Outgoing Students of Bachelor of Hotel Management, Travel & Tourism – Mehak Mann and Mr Syed Yasin.

The Good Teacher Award was won by Chef Manoj Belwal, Assistant Professor, Department of Food & Beverage Management. The Ricky Victor D’Souza Memorial Award for overall excellence in Food and Beverage Production and Prof. Trevor Devas Cash Prize’ for Highest marks in Entrepreneurship both won by Malshe Rohit Sanjay of BHM, G. Sathyavathi Award for the university topper in B.A. (Culinary Arts) went to Avanthi; The Best Sportsperson of the year- Female- Darshana Gopinath and Best Sportsperson of the year- Male – Md. Adnan of BHM.

Chief Guest Mrs. Benita Sharma shared her rich experiences in the industry which helped her to get to the position she enjoys today. She told the students what the hospitality industry had in store for them as they leave the portals of the University. She complimented WGSHA and MAHE in particular, for being foremost among the institutions in the country.

Ms Sarina Menezes in her acceptance speech recalled the fond memories of her college days and appreciated the tremendous growth and development in WGSHA and the University.