Matt Cairns had to contend with managing Christmas dinner for 1900 people.

But the hard work and stress paid off, with the year 12 student from The Riverina Anglican College learning last week that he had been awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Kenvale College in Sydney next year.

Matt will study an Advanced Diploma of Events and an Advanced Diploma of Hospitality at the college over the next two years, combining classes with work in the industry.

"Kenvale was Australia's first private hospitality college so it's pretty prestigious," he said.

He worked at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Sydney last year as part of the Get Real: Events Experience program, after finding out about it through a guest speaker at school.

Some high-profile events were among the projects he worked on during his work experience.

"For a 17-year-old to go to the Convention Centre and organise an event for the Dalai Lama is huge," he said.

Matt said the experience had confirmed he wanted to work in the event management industry, and taught him valuable lessons about what it would take to be successful.

"You have to be patient dealing with people and be passionated and committed to what you're doing," he said.