The School of St Jude brings students a step closer to a professional career

ARUSHA, Tanzania - Sept. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- The School of St Jude, in Arusha, Tanzania, took a major step forward in its preparations for 2015, when its very first class of students will graduate from secondary school, marking a major milestone for the largest charity-funded school of its kind in Africa.

St Jude’s invited more than 15 academic institutions from the Arusha region and 36 professionals from different job areas for its first Careers Fair.

Close to 700 students from Forms 1 through 5 (8th through 12th grade) had the opportunity to move around different tables and talk to 36 people about their professions in medicine, law, architecture, engineering, business, aviation, government, banking and journalism, among others.

They also moved through a row of stands full of flyers and representatives from 10 local tertiary institutions: Arusha Technical College;  Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology; Community Development Training Institute; VETA Hotel and Tourism Training Institute; Kilimanjaro International Institute for Telecommunications, Electronics and Computers; JR Institute of Information Technology; Tengeru Institute of Agriculture;  National College of Tourism (Arusha Branch); Arusha Journalism Training College; and Habari Maalum College.

“This event helped me change my mind about my career choice,” said Penueli, a 17-year old Form 4 student.

“I was thinking of becoming an editor for a business, but now I know I want to go into TV journalism.”

Students and staff from other schools in the region (Edmund Rice, Duluti, Ilboru, Orkeswa, Henry Gugat and Meru Peak) also participated in the event and were able to broaden their knowledge of career possibilities.

At the opening, students sang, presented short skits and gave talks related to their career choices. A number of speakers, such as the engineer Desdedit Kakoko, Arusha Regional Manager for TANROADS, encouraged students to apply themselves to their studies in order to build a solid career.

Jon Ford, St Jude’s new School Director, closed the event by telling the story of a student in the school he managed for 10 years in West Sussex, England. The student dreamed of becoming a doctor and studied really hard until she was accepted into medical school. The next time he saw her she was a well regarded doctor.

“You too can become doctors, or any other profession you desire,” he told the assembled students. “Just follow your dream and reach for the skies.”