Date: 24th February 2011

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

I am Shawn Kishore Lawrence. I was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka in

January 1991 in a Roman Catholic family. My father is a retired marine officer. Mother
decease (2009). I have one elder brother who works in a private bank. I wish to enroll in
the "National Diploma in Hospitality Management" course at North Shore International
Academy (NSIA), Auckland, New Zealand.

I have completed my Secondary School education at St. Joseph’s College

in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. St. Joseph’s College is one of the oldest and
reputed Roman Catholic learning institutions in Sri Lanka. While at school, I was active
in sports and extra-curricular activities, apart from academic activities. I was a member of
the Foot Ball team of St. Joseph’s College and also an active member of the Cultural
Society. My parents have completed school education, but they were not fortunate
enough to obtain higher education due to lack of resources in their families, although they
aspired to get higher education. I am proud of my parents and thankful to them for giving
me the opportunities that they did not have when they were young. In order to fulfill their
dreams as well as to build up my career, I have decided to pursue my higher studies at a
reputed higher education institution overseas.

Due to its natural and scenic beauty of this small island in the India Ocean, Sri Lanka
(also known as Ceylon) is a very popular and well known tourist destination for tourists
from all over the world. Our sandy white beaches are said to be some of the best of their
kind n the world. Hence tourism is a very important segment in our country’s economy
and one of the main avenues of foreign revenue. Therefore we need high quality
professionals to develop the tourism industry in Sri Lanka. My grandfather also was
worked in the hotel industry for many years and he has worked at leading tourist hotels in
Sri Lanka and in the Middle Eastern countries. Therefore it has been my dream and
passion from the childhood to become an hotelier one day. This is why I decided pursue a
career in hospitality management.

I completed the GCE (A/L) - General Certificate of Education - Advanced

Level Examination Level in 2009 and obtained good results in the Commerce stream. I
was successful in Logic, Economics and Business Studies. I have also completed other
courses in English Language and Computer applications.

Presently I am undergoing apprenticeship training as a “Management

Trainee” at a leading company in Colombo. This training is helping me develop skills in
a multitude of trades such as marketing, accounting and management.

Following the completion of my course I will be seeking to find a suitable

position in the hospitality trade in a tourist leading hotel Sri Lanka. Ultimately I would
like to start a tourist hotel business and I believe I will be much better placed to be
successful by completing the Hospitality Management program at NSIA.

I am very keen interested to study in New Zealand because hospitality

educational institutions in NZ are well recognized in Sri Lanka and throughout the world
and the course fees are also affordable. Also the exposure to a multinational /
multicultural educational environment would be very helpful to me develop my
understanding of different cultures, which is a very vital component in international
hospitality management. Also I wish to make new friends from other countries, especially
the Pacific island nations from the region.

New Zealand is also well known for its unpolluted natural environment and to my
knowledge New Zealanders are warm and friendly people living in a multi-cultural
environment.

I came to know about NSIA through some friends and met Mr. Upolu, who
also gave me a good introduction about NSIA. Moreover, I have visited the website of
this college and now have a very clear idea about the curriculum and other activities
available for international students in NSIA.

I am confident that completion of this course will help me build up my future career in
hospitality management.

I look forward o your favorable consideration of my Student Visa

application.

Thanking you in advance.

Yours sincerely,

Shawn Kishore Lawrence

Mobile Number: +94 770799288 (Sri Lanka)
Landline Phone Number: +94 11 2432520 (Sri Lanka)
Email: skishorelawrence@yahoo.com