Mylin Ignacio - Room Attendant, Philippines

Mylin's day starts by checking in at the office to see what this shift has in store for her. Here she finds a master list of the daily check-outs, arrivals, and pre-assigned rooms. There's also a breakdown of what she will be responsible for that day. After a quick chat with her supervisor and a humorous update from one of her colleagues, the cleaning of guest bedrooms begins.

'Our role is indirectly promoting the Centre through the attitudes and services we provide the guests.
Our moods we bring to work are very important, guests feel them."

Mylin has been working as a room attendant here at the Centre since October 2008. She is getting close to achieving her permanent residency in Canada. In the Philippines Mylin previously worked as a housekeeper and live-in-caregiver. She was excited about coming to Canada and was shown pictures of Banff but wasn't really sure what to expect until she actually arrived at The Banff Centre.

Within her first few days here she knew she was going to be working in a very special part of Canada.

'There was lots of awareness that I was arriving in a National Park in the Rocky Mountains.
When I first arrived I even saw bears and animals in the streets."

As her day goes on Mylin has the chance to meet a variety of people that come from around the world to participate in programs or to work here at the Centre. For lunch she decides to head to the gym with her staff membership but instead of a workout today maybe just a steam bath. The gym and staff cafeteria are two of the benefits she really enjoys while working at the Centre. She also really appreciates the English as a Second Language courses she's taken through the Centre. They have been increasing her vocabulary and confidence as she studies.

After her work day is done Mylin heads back to her on-site accommodations. With wireless internet in her room she easily connects with all her with friends and family in the Philippines - whenever the time difference doesn't get in her way that is. Finishing her chat with family back home, it's time to meet a friend downtown Banff for a meal. There are so many restaurants here to try and she's been crossing each one off her list, one meal at a time. She's enjoyed testing out the Canadian diet especially since it is so different from her own in the Philippines.

'Canadians eat so many salads! I'm learning to eat raw vegetables here and so far I like it. Oh, and granola bars," she laughs, 'We don't even have granola bars in the Philippines."