top hotel.

For Paul Telford was awarded a whopping $5000 scholarship to help fund his UK hotel management degree course from Rafael's Elbow Beach Hotel in Paget.

Mr. Telford, 22, said: "It's great -- especially because I'd worked for Elbow Beach before and that's what really got me interested. It was Elbow which inspired me to study hotel management.'' He added that he spent four years working summer holidays in the hotel industry -- including spells at Elbow Beach as a bus boy and waiter -- to help finance his further education.

Mr. Telford said: "The scholarship is great for me and will help me pursue my goal.'' Elbow Beach executive Robert Calderon said: "We are delighted to be able to make a contribution to the future of our industry.

"We feel the scholarship is a very significant contribution to someone's education.

"The industry is having its problems and this our way of ensuring people who are bright and interested do not fail because of a lack of backing.'' Mr. Telford was selected for the unique annual scholarship award by a joint panel of Department of Education officials and Elbow Beach management.

Mr. Calderon said: "Paul is very mature, bright and has an engaging personality -- which is what we are looking for.

"He was selected because he represented the type of individual we want to encourage.'' Mr. Telford is a former pupil of Warwick Academy and successfully completed the Bermuda College Diploma in Hotel Management.

He is currently a student on the International Hotel Management B.Sc. degree course at the University of Buckingham in England and is set to graduate next year.

He has spent most of his summer holidays working in the hotel industry on the Island.

The winner of the scholarship has to undertake to work for a minimum of a year at the hotel.

Mr. Calderon said: "He has a definite interest in hotel management and we look forward to having him with us in the future.'' TIP FOR THE TOP -- Former Elbow Beach hotel bus boy Paul Telford, now studying abroad for a B.Sc. in International Hotel Management, gets a massive cash boost for his studies from Rafael Elbow Beach chief Ingo Schweder. Looking on are Paul's proud parents Delano and Caroline.