Three ambitious students spoke of furthering their dreams after being awarded scholarships to the tune of $20,000 by the Bermuda Hospitality Institute.

The Tomasz Tabor Hospitality Scholarships, totalling $20,000, went to Sajni Richardson, Zakiya Adams and Yajni Durham.

The awards come from a 2014 partnership between the BHI and the friends of the late Mr Tabor to hold a memorial golf tournament and raffle. Mr Tabor was a popular chef who lost his life in a road accident in February 2014.

Malika Musson, executive director of the BHI, extended “heartfelt” thanks to Mr Tabor’s friends for helping build the future of local hospitality.

Ms Richardson, 19, attends Johnson & Wales University in the US and has been awarded a scholarship in the amount of $10,000. She will continue a course of study towards a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts and food service management for the next two years.

Ms Richardson spent the summer working at the newly opened Marcus’ at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.

“For me the scholarship is huge because I have two years left at Johnson and Wales,” she said. “It’s a great accomplishment and it’s a great opportunity to be awarded with this scholarship. It’s helping me to continue my education in culinary arts.”

Zakiya Adams, 19, attends Mount St Vincent University in Canada and received $5,000 for her tourism and hospitality studies.

She will be travelling to Dubai for a semester abroad, after spending this summer conducting tours with Hidden Gems.

“The scholarship means a lot to me especially because this year I’m doing an exchange to Dubai, so it will help out a lot to pay the rest of my tuition and now gives me a little extra to use,” she said.

“My school does a whole bunch of different exchanges and I’ve never been to that side of the world before, so that was one of the main reasons why I chose to go there.”

Yajni Durham, 18, is pursuing a bachelor’s in hotel tourism management with a minor in marketing at West Virginia University.

He also received $5,000 towards his studies.

Mr Durham became a certified tourism ambassador this summer while working at Rosewood Tucker’s Point. He said: “This scholarship is going to go towards my tuition. I have three years left and it is very, very expensive, so this will help me a lot.”

The 2nd Annual Tomasz Tabor Memorial Golf Tournament and Raffle is scheduled to be held on Monday, September 21 at Riddell’s Bay Golf Club.