Improve Experience

As a Bachelor of Commerce student, Sahad Kassam was determined to take his learnings beyond the classroom. With a B.Comm specialization in Hotel and Food Administration, he sought out ways to get involved in the industry and combine his classroom learning with experiences in the real-world.

Kassam started out by getting involved in his student community as much as possible by joining a variety of student associations and sitting on councils and executive committees. He is now the president of the Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management Student Association, 

Internships and opportunity

With multiple, one-year co-op terms as part of his program, Kassam's has worked at some truly interesting places, including at Coast Hotels in Vancouver, BC as a Hotel and Corporate Office Intern. Travelling between Jasper, Edmonton, Price George and Vancouver, he gained valuable experience in every operational department of a hotel, as well as receiving corporate experience in revenue management and brand development.

In an effort to obtain additional experience, he later pursued an internship for the Regional Office of Marriott International, gaining professional experience and invaluable networking opportunities.

"Co-op allowed me to work on a number of different projects and gave me the opportunity to build relationships with corporate leadership teams. My internship program has acted as a catalyst, providing me with an invitation to re-join the company for their post-graduate Leadership Development Program."

In 2018, Kassam was selected as one of few students in Canada to be interviewed for an early acceptance into the Voyage Program, Marriott’s Leadership Development Program in Dallas, Texas. Through determination, networking and industry-experience, Sahad accepted a post-graduate position with the program in Revenue Management, working for the Marriott Hotels of Canada Regional Office before graduating from the B.Comm program.