At Western Community College, our instructors bring more than curriculum to the classroom — they bring careers’ worth of lived experience, industry insight, and a genuine commitment to student success. In this instructor highlight, we sit down with Dr. Sahar Movahedi, one of the dedicated educators shaping our Bachelor of Hospitality Management (BHM) program, to learn about her remarkable journey through the hospitality and tourism world and the advice she has for students following in her footsteps.
A Career That Began at the Front Lines of Tourism
Dr. Movahedi’s path into hospitality education started early — and it started hands-on. After completing her bachelor’s degree in English, she became an international tour leader at a national museum at just 21 years of age. That first role opened the door to a career that would span nearly every corner of the tourism and hospitality industry.
She went on to train as a hospitality tour operating manager, worked as a front desk agent at a boutique hotel, and spent two years as a tour operator with a travel agency. By around age 24, she was serving as a practical examiner for tourism courses with the ministry of tourism — evaluating the very skills she had built in the field.
That combination of frontline experience and formal expertise soon drew her into education. She taught hospitality courses at the high school level for nearly four years, and after completing her master’s degree in tourism planning, she went on to teach at the university level, including at Azad University.
From Researcher to Research Leader
Dr. Movahedi’s academic career deepened when she was invited to join the ACECR research department at Isfahan University, where she ultimately became head of department — a research leadership role she held for almost a decade. During this period, she also served as a senior advisor to the chamber of commerce, connecting academic research with the real needs of industry and business communities.
She earned her PhD in Tourism Management, and continued to invest in her own learning through courses at Harvard and IMC University in Austria. Today, she is also a certified business coach at the professional level with the International Coaching Federation, working with clients as a freelance business coach alongside her teaching.
Bringing It All to WCC
Before joining the classroom in Canada, Dr. Movahedi worked in hospitality with Hyatt Regency and taught business, hospitality, and hospitality management at three different colleges. At WCC, she teaches within the BHM program — including capstone and seminar courses — where her knowledge of sustainability, design thinking, and business coaching gives students a practical, future-focused approach to their studies.
Her educational philosophy is grounded in experiential learning and applied research: students learn most effectively, she believes, when they engage with real-world challenges and connect theory to practice. It’s a philosophy she lives out in every course she teaches, blending coaching methodologies with hands-on, industry-relevant learning.
Her Advice for Hospitality Management Students
When asked what she would say to someone starting out in a hospitality program, Dr. Movahedi’s answer begins with something deeper than skills or credentials: self-awareness.
“Self-awareness is very important in a hospitality program,” she explains. Her guidance for students starting their journey: find the right position within hospitality that fits you, unlock your hospitable layer, keep updating yourself with new approaches, and build real industry experience along the way.
Navigating an Increasingly Competitive Industry
Dr. Movahedi is candid about the challenges facing today’s hospitality professionals. The industry has become intensely competitive, and delivering a customer-centric experience — one that offers real uniqueness — is now essential. Her advice: be skillful about understanding the customer, and focus on helping organizations stand out in the market.
And for New Graduates?
Her message to students approaching graduation is refreshingly practical: don’t worry about starting at the entry level. Those early roles build the fundamental knowledge every hospitality leader needs. What matters is what you bring to them — she encourages graduates to develop strong problem-solving skills, which help them grow and advance faster within any organization.
Thank You, Dr. Movahedi
We are grateful to Dr. Sahar Movahedi for sharing her story and her wisdom — and for the expertise, energy, and coaching mindset she brings to our BHM students every day. Instructors like her are what make the WCC learning experience practical, personal, and preparing students for the future of hospitality.
Western Community College is committed to delivering education that prepares students for the real world — through strong academic programs, experienced faculty, and meaningful industry connections. To learn more about our Bachelor of Hospitality Management program, visit wcc.bc.ca.
