Mentorship Meeting at Ngara Girls High School, Nairobi, Kenya
June 23, 2021
OWSD Kenya National Chapter members organize a mentorship activity at girls' school
On 23rd June, 2021, OWSD Kenya National Chapter members set out for a mentorship activity at Ngara Girls High School, Nairobi. This activity was jointly organized with the Ngara girls Alumnae association, whose member, Dr Josephine Opondo of the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) is an active OWSD Kenya National Chapter member.
The main objective was to motivate the candidates to put their best foot forward with a special focus on science subjects. The OWSD delegation comprised of older members and a majority of younger scholars who are currently pursuing their masters degrees. The main strategy was to present the younger members as success stories and role models who the girls who identify with better.
Rita Mwende, OWSD Kenya National Chapter active member and final year Master of Science in Condensed Matter Physics student at the University of Nairobi, led the delegation of the younger members. Her research interest lies in solar energy and data science. In the mentorship program, she discussed ways to change one’s attitude towards mathematics and sciences. She encouraged the girls to engage in group discussions and not to shy away from engaging their teachers more when encountering challenging topics in sciences.
Namisi Mwanaidi Mauwa, a first year Masters student specializing in Material Physics and hoping to do her project in Computational Physics , talked of the importance of starting with small manageable tasks and mentioned the value of repetition in making knowledge stick to the subconscious mind.
The importance of time management was emphasised by Museo Mwanzia, a second
year Master of Science, Physics student specializing in Theoretical Physics. She also spoke about the importance of team work in studies and gave her encouraging story in STEM.
Serryanne Wavinya, a Pure Mathematics graduate student from the University of Nairobi wrapped up the session of success stories by emphasising the importance of maintaining a positive and winning attitude of the girls towards mathematics and existing careers in mathematics and that the only way to excell in mathematics is to practice it from the simple examples to complex ones.
OWSD Kenya National Chapter member Violet Moraa, who is the Director Global
capacity building center took the motivation a notch higher. She equipped the girls with information on opportunities in terms of further education and jobs available for STEM students both locally and abroad. The ladies inspired the girls who listened keenly and took notes in an activity that was very engaging and informative. OWSD Kenya National Chapter Secretary, Zipporah Wanjiku was also there and apart from speaking on strategies to achieve smart grades in STEM subjects, she explained to the girls about OWSD.
In a nutshell, the activity, very well organised and co-ordinated by OWSD member Dr Josephine Opondo and graciously hosted by the Senior Principal Dr Ndiga and graced by the Ngara Girls Alumnae President, Regina Obam, focused on three main themes, namely; Career opportunities created by STEM subjects, the role of a positive and winning attitude on performance in STEM subjects, strategies to achieve smart grades in STEM and success stories in STEM. After a brief question and answer session, the activity ended, with a promise from the OWSD members to return again.
