Tia Goadby – Level 3 Travel and Tourism

Name: Tia Goadby - Level 3 Travel and Tourism

Course Name: Level 3 Travel and Tourism

Course Type: College Courses

Image caption: NWSLC Travel and Tourism student Tia Goadby at an event

From the world of entertainment to the achievements of sports stars, Tia has been proud to serve some big names from Alexandra Burke and Pixie Lott to Mo Farah and Ant Middleton in event management roles she secured following her college success.

Tia, from Leicester, started A Levels but they didn’t turn out to be what she had been expecting so she made the move to start a diploma in travel and tourism at the Wigston campus of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College. After successfully achieving her qualification, Tia secured a place at Leeds Beckett University from where she graduated in entertainment management.

Returning to her hometown, Tia secured her first role in events for the Mercure Leicester Grand Hotel where she enjoyed booking accommodation and arranging hospitality for stars appearing at the nearby De Montfort Hall venue. As part of this role she organised events, large scale Asian weddings, conferences and meetings.

Tia said, “I hadn’t been sure what I wanted to do when I left school and the college course in travel and tourism gave me a broad insight into all the career options that would be open to me. I was able to get a taste of different types of work and it helped me to think about whether I wanted to focus on events management or the entertainment industry.

“Coming to college was a great first step for me and really helped me to overcome my shyness and gain in confidence. The tutors and staff formed a hugely supportive network around us all and they still keep in touch and are interested to find out how I am getting on.”

After four years, Tia was head-hunted to join the team at Imago Venues, the commercial arm of Loughborough University, rated as best in the world for sport-related subjects according to the QS World University Subject Rankings.

In her role as business development manager, Tia now looks after the University’s five venues which include the flagship Elite Athlete Centre and Hotel, the first of its kind in the UK. The hotel has 20-rooms that can be climate-controlled to replicate altitude conditions of up to 5,000m above sea level enabling athletes to ‘sleep high and train low’ without the need to leave the country.

During her time at Imago Venues, Tia has been pleased to meet Ant Middleton, star of Channel 4’s ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’ as well as fitness guru Ross Edgley and Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty. She said, “The facilities that we run at Loughborough enable athletes and sportspeople to train at the highest levels and include top class pools, pitches and stadiums. My job is challenging but always exciting and I am so pleased that I took the route through college which opened doors in this competitive sector and gave me a great platform for my future career. I wouldn’t have got where I am without the help and support of the College and would definitely recommend it to young people who are thinking about their next steps.”