Leoneil Cesario - Room Attendant, Philippines

It's hard to catch Leo for a few minutes to sit and chat. You will most likely find him out snowboarding or climbing in the gym. However, I have him for a moment to ask a few questions; questions he makes me promise won't be too difficult to answer.

What is your background and what brought you to the Centre?
Well I just passed my third year anniversary this past October here at the Centre. Before coming to The Banff Centre I studied Hospitality and Hotel Management in the Philippines. After working for two years in Makati City as a Room Attendant I knew I wanted to work outside of my home country and this was a great opportunity to come to Canada. Whenever anyone talked to me about coming to Banff they always mentioned the weather: the weather was very tricky. This made me curious. I was told it can change from sunny to snowing very quickly at any time of the year. It sounded like something I wanted to experience.

What does your day-to-day work look like?
I spend most of my work day cleaning rooms for guests. One room can take up to forty-five minutes to clean if the guest is checking out. Obviously the length of time to clean a room depends on the room style, for example whether it has a kitchen or not, and also how messy it was to start with. It's been great meeting all the different people that work and visit the Centre. There are a lot of warm people here.

When you're not working, what do you love to do in your spare time?
Well I love to get outside any chance I get. You will often find me biking, climbing, hiking, or running. I also love a good game of basketball, or getting out on my snowboard when possible. It's so great to have the climbing gym right here at work. I use it all the time.

What is one highlight you've had working at The Banff Centre?
Learning while working is very important to me, The Banff Centre allows me to develop skills both in hospitality and in the arts. Taking English as a Second Language courses through the Centre has been extremely helpful. So has participating in different Lunch n' Learns and workshops. My favourite was the workshop I took on photography. I even entered the Staff Photo Competition a few times with my newly developed skills.