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Dear Friends, Supporters and Students,
The change in season has brought a number of exciting announcements from ECF, including four brilliant new scholarship recipients, a confirmed date and location for M.E.N.U.S. 2015 and several new members to the ECF board. We are excited to share this news with you and look forward to growing our foundation for the best year yet!
The ECF board has taken a good deal of time during the last few months accepting scholarship applications, reading essays and sitting down to interview hopeful candidates amongst one of the most talented field of students we’ve seen. After extensive and careful deliberation, we recently came to a conclusion to award four scholarships to local Clark County high school students – and in typical ECF fashion, surprised each with the announcement on hidden camera during what they thought was another step in the interview process! Please join us in congratulating Anna Tymoshevska, Benjamin Sison, Mia Salomon and Sarah Figueroa. More about each of the newest ECF scholars is shared below.
Ensuring these students, and the others before them, receive full-ride scholarships, would not be possible without your support at our grand annual event, M.E.N.U.S. (Mentoring & Educating Nevada’s Upcoming Students), which we are very excited to announce will be held at The Beach at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on Friday, Sept. 11. This year we will be focusing on offering an extended dine-around with many of the finest restaurants, chefs and distributors in the city along with live entertainment from local musicians. More information is included below.
As ECF continues to grow and evolve, we are placing a strong emphasis on expanding beyond food and beverage and into the hospitality world. Many of our students have accepted, or are working toward, management positions at resorts and casinos, and a majority of incoming scholars plan to study hospitality management or a related field at school. ECF Vice President Ana Marie Mormando has led our efforts as vice president of hotel operations for Bellagio, and recently accepted a position as general manager of The Mansion at MGM. We are also thrilled to welcome Travis Lunn, vice president of hotel operations for MGM Grand, to the ECF board to join Ana Marie and others in offering our students a wealth of hospitality experience.
Whether seeking to pursue careers in culinary arts or hospitality, the dreams of our deserving students are our No. 1 priority and we are continually working toward providing the best possible resource for those dreams to come true. It is thanks to the generous support from our sponsors, donors, partners and board that our actions are possible, and for that we thank you. As always, you can keep up to date with everything ECF at www.ecflv.org or by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @EpicureanLV.
Best,
Melissa Arias
Executive Director of Epicurean Charitable Foundation
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Anna Tymoshevska
High School: Basic High School
University: University of Nevada Las Vegas
Major: Hospitality Management
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Tymoshevska holds a 3.95 GPA and ranks No. 20 out of 534 students at her school, where she is also a member of DECA and WeRCommunity. Without knowing English, she moved from the Ukraine two years ago and through the multicultural society she participates in, was able to find her passion in hospitality. Tymoshevska will study hospitality management in the fall and hopes to one day take her education and international background into a senior management position with a well-known global corporation. She is the first student from Basic High School to receive an ECF scholarship.
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Benjamin Sison
High School: Southwest Career and Technical Academy
University: University of Nevada Las Vegas
Major: Hospitality Management
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Sison currently holds a 3.69 GPA and plans to study hospitality management. In addition to playing on his school’s basketball team, he is also a Sunday School volunteer for first through fifth graders. His father is an entertainer, playing with the likes of Steven Tyler and James Brown, and allowed Sison to become exposed to the entertainment and hospitality industry at a young age, where his passion is rooted and propelled him to pursue the path he is on today.
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Mia Salomon
High School: Southwest Career and Technical Academy
University: University of Nevada Las Vegas
Major: Hotel Management
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Salomon is a multi-talented student with a 3.97 GPA who plans to pursue a degree in hotel management. She is an active member of DECA, as well as a regular volunteer with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Three Square Food Bank. Her biggest goal is to become one of the top female executives at a resort in Las Vegas.
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Sarah Figueroa
High School: Southwest Career and Technical Academy
University: University of Nevada Las Vegas
Major: Hospitality Management
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Boasting an impressive 3.60 GPA, Figueroa plans to pursue a degree in hospitality management, with a focus on event planning. Her upbringing as part of an Army family has allowed her to do a lot of traveling, both in and out of the country, as well as helped to fuel her hard work ethic. Figueroa’s goal is to become a professional manager in the hospitality industry. In addition to participating in the hospitality program at NWCTA, she is a member of DECA and has volunteered at a number of events around the city, including the Bridal Spectacular Convention at Cashman Convention Center.
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