Nothing triggers the anxiety of a student like the announcement a trip to some place they’ve never been. I have no doubt this moment has always been an exciting one for many of us back in the days. The trips are not just ones that dominate every conversation but also give students time away from books, bells and of course the routine “Githeri”
Among the major mentoring activities we had this holiday is Academic Trips for our secondary students. Our students have wonderful career dreams. Some are very passionate about careers in Medicine, engineering, accounting, management among others. Most professionals I have met in their mid careers admit having chosen their careers out of the sound of the titles. This is true given the fact the difference between 6 and 9 depends on where one is seated. This is why we found it to very essential to bring the routine lessons to life.
Base Titanium
Our first trip was one with our form two students to Base Titanium Limited. For the very first time students had a touch with reality in the engineering industry. Opencast and hydraulic mining processes are topics theoretically taught in Geography. The students received a step by step explanation on how titanium is mined and had most of their questions answered. “After mining the quarries are rehabilitated to land that can be used for other purposes”, our tour guide Bernard explained to the students. After the mines, the company seeks to ensure that the fields are reinstated to their original state through reforestation programs. The trip was so educative and will go a long way helping students to make informed career choices.
Kenya Ports Authority
We are very grateful for the management at Kenya Port Authority (KPA), Kilindini Harbor, for granting us permission and their willingness to host our form four students during annual educational tour. The trip offered a rare opportunity for the students to learn about the historical background of the Mombasa harbor. The trip was informative as students were able to learn different classifications of cargo and the different types of vessels that carry cargo. They got an opportunity to observe vessel offload cargo. During this trip, students visited a fish cooling unit that receives imported fish. A KPA logistics officer accompanied the students in the tour as he explained the turnaround time of cargo and vessels in the port. These areas presented many learning opportunities for the students who came to understand there are numerous professions that work in the port facility which they could purse as their careers.
Pride Inn Paradise Shanzu
Known for Africa’s largest Beach Convention Centre, our students were very excited to take their academic trip to the Pride Inn Paradise Beach Resort and SPA in the north of Mombasa. We received a warm welcome from the hotel’s HR manager. We enjoyed an extensive tour of the property. Our students asked questions all of which were answered. The team from the operations department gave our students the best chance to explore learn and discover more about hotels. They took them through the laundry department, catering and conferencing. We left the hotel late that day and one student asked a unique question from the rest. Is this hotel owned by one person? Different people would interpret the question differently but all the same this shows that the trips were a chance of learning.
Serena Beach Resort
We also had an opportunity to take our form one students to Serena Beach Resorts. Here the students had the chance to experience the working environment in the hospitality industry. Their faces were full of excitement as we arrived at the Hotel premise where we met Mr. Tom, the Hotel’s Operations Manager who briefed us on our tour. Keen and interested to learn, the students were taken through laundry, housekeeping and catering departments where they had the opportunity to ask questions. There was plenty of sea food to taste! We completed the tour on a high note with an impressive number of students interested in pursuing courses in the hospitality industry.