A ‘double act’ throughout university – two student mothers graduate together

After working closely together on a number of projects during their BA International Travel and Tourism Management course, students Laura Yildiz and Adrienne Boran both graduate alongside each other after three years of balancing hard work and family life.

Both possessing a love for travel since childhood, and both with a desire to pursue this passion as a career, Laura and Adrienne worked in different countries before coming to University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) to study, after also becoming mothers.

Laura says: “Following the birth of my first child, my partner and I relocated to Wales. I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to reconsider my future path and establish a new career. I knew returning to education would provide me with the best opportunities and in-depth knowledge, and this decision led me to discover the amazing Travel and Tourism Management degree programme on offer at UWTSD.

“Returning to education as a mature student was a daunting prospect; however, having a close working relationship with and receiving substantial ongoing support and encouragement from the tourism lecturers has enabled me to truly excel throughout my studies.”

Adrienne adds: “Attending industry week and receiving advice and expert knowledge from guest speakers all over the world, as well as having the opportunity to network and build professional relationships with key global industry partners and specialists allowed me to feel motivated and has encouraged me to grasp every opportunity possible.”

The pair became the first ABTA Regional Representatives while on placement as part of their degree, and worked to build links and relationships between UWTSD students, ABTA Members in the region and ABTA’s Head Office to connect industry stakeholders with the next generation of talent.

“As part of our roles at ABTA we had the opportunity to participate in the Travel Day of Action, which involved acting as student voices to put pressure on the UK Government to support the safe return of international travel, in time for the peak summer season of 2021 – to save thousands of travel jobs,” explains Adrienne.

“Within the days prior to the Travel Day of Action, we both managed to organise and lead a virtual call with Welsh Labour Member of the Senedd, David Rees, to discuss the importance of what we were trying to achieve. This included creating a social media storm full of meaningful content, and also supporting Trade bodies from across the aviation and travel industries.

“Many industry professionals recognised the work that was conducted on that day, and as a result the ABTA team was extremely impressed with our efforts and our work was referenced in a Travel Weekly interview. We were both invited to a follow-up interview with the head of Advantage Holidays & Cruise where we were able to expand on our thoughts and what we had achieved.”

But the duo didn’t stop there. Laura continues: “During final year, we both had the opportunity to undertake a project management internship position for the Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society (HES), to develop and deliver an educating and inspiring online event for UWTSD students and the International University of Malaya-Wales.

“The purpose of this was to promote the concept of Harmonious Entrepreneurship, and encourage the creation of new business ventures which address one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the launch of a pilot Student Enterprise Competition. The competition attracted a total of 16 student teams, demonstrating the event’s success, and provided a great sense of achievement and confidence in our management abilities.” 

Jacqui Jones, Programme Manager for International Events, Tourism and Leisure Resort Management at UWTSD says: “Laura and Ady have been an amazing double act throughout University. They have both had second children whilst studying, but have also been totally committed to their studies and keen to take up all opportunities possible.

“This included becoming joint ABTA Travel Industry Student Representatives which enabled them to actively lobby on behalf of the travel sector during the Covid lockdown, and to organise a major online conference which included recording interviews with speakers from California to Abu Dhabi. Myself and my team are immensely proud of their achievements and wish them best of luck in future.”

Both women now have great career prospects within the industry and seek work that enables them to continue to balance bringing up a young family alongside a rewarding professional role.

Further Information

Ella Staden

Swyddog y Wasg a'r Cyfryngau

Press and Media Officer

Cyfathrebu Corfforaethol a Chysylltiadau Cyhoeddus

Corporate Communications and PR

E-bost | Email : ella.staden@uwtsd.ac.uk

Ffôn | Phone : 07384467078