A second year Bachelor of Commerce in Hotel Management student of The University of the South Pacific (USP) has been awarded a six-month scholarship to study Mandarin in China.

Richard Derenalagi, who will commence his studies from next year, is excited at the opportunity to be awarded the scholarship.

Learning Mandarin as part of his elective units has opened overseas opportunities for Richard.

He was chosen to represent Fiji in a Chinese proficiency competition in June earlier this year.

Richard scored the highest mark in his mid-semester test at USP which resulted in him winning a trip to China during the semester break in earlier this year.

The scholarship came as a surprise for Richard as his main aim of studying at USP was to get a degree in hotel management and work in a hotel afterwards.