Some people know from a very young age what they want to be when they grow up, while others even as young adults still don’t know what they want to do.
Here in Kenya, one has to decide or at least narrow the field down as a teenager. Kenyan students get to choose which science and humanities classes they take in secondary school. Most students choose based on what they think they will do best in. Although good grades are important, many students do not realize that these classes will affect which college/university classes they can take and in turn, which majors they qualify for.
We want to expose our students to as many career choices and future options as possible. We want them to be aware that the class choices they make in secondary school will affect their future career options. For these reasons, we decided to host a career panel discussion for our students during the April holiday break. Held over four days, professionals from education, health, IT, media, policy, hospitality, engineering, mining, urban planning and business, among others, came to share their experiences and advice with our students. It would be rare for our students to have spoken with professionals in these fields before.
Our students asked great questions about job opportunities in each field, the tasks involved in a typical day, the challenges, and what each professional loves most about their career. They received great advice and some very important words of wisdom.
Madame Mwana Mwinyi Mwinyi, Teacher at Inspiration Primary School, told
the students, “If you want to be what you want to be, you have to start from today.” She emphasized the importance of dreams, that you can have them at any age, and should always work hard to make them a reality.
“Don’t be forced to do something that you don’t like because at the end of the day you won’t enjoy what you’re doing,” said Dr. Ali Omar, Medical Superintendent at Likoni District Hospital. He explained how no matter what challenges lie in your way, if you do what you set out to do, you’ll be happy lying in bed at night.
Hatua is extremely grateful to all of the panelists who took time out of their busy schedules to share their knowledge and experience with our students. The panel opened their eyes to new opportunities and networks.
We welcome professionals from all fields to join us for future career panels and to be a part of our university mentoring program where we pair our college and university students with an individual mentor working within their field of interest. If you’re interested in making a difference in Likoni’s youth please email us at info@hatuanetwork.org