Members of the alumni with Mrs Zovannah Onumah on May 17, 2019. From left, Uzoma Isaac (Class of 1998), Ikenna Ohiaeri (Class of 1997), Okechukwu Onye (Class of1997) and Emeka Chibuike (Class of 1998)
On the 17th of May, three members of Dority International Alumni Association, Okechukwu Onye, Ikenna Ohiaeri and Emeka Chibuike, visited Dority International Secondary School.
Their visit was aimed at encouraging Dority students to make wise career choices.
About one hundred and twenty students from SS1 to SS3 assembled in the school auditorium to listen to the representatives of the alumni.
Okechukwu Onye spoke first. He told the students to broaden their search for a career and advised them to study courses they were passionate about, instead of focusing on prestigious courses like Medicine, Law and Mass Communication.
Okechukwu Onye interacting with the students
He talked about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who became successful pursuing her passion as a writer and mentioned courses like Music and Theater Arts, which were considered irrelevant in the past but have become lucrative today.
He narrated his own career journey; from withstanding parental pressure to study Medicine, to working as a safety engineer for a multinational firm.
Finally, he read Ekeledirichukwu Jinanwa’s interesting article, Navigating Career Choices, to the students.
Ikenna Ohiaeri speaking to the students
Ikenna Ohiaeri discussed the importance of acquiring skills. He explained the difference between a career and a skill: a career requires lengthy education while a skill could be acquired with minimal training. He listed baking and writing as examples of skills that could be easily acquired and talked about highly educated professionals who were making more money from their skills than the income from their chosen careers.
Emeka Chibuike spoke on the importance of knowledge, good health, social relationships and spirituality. He advised the students to develop their intellectual and emotional capabilities if they wanted to succeed in the real world.
He talked about time management and the need for students to curtail playing video games and watching TV shows.
He told the students they were lucky to be in one of the best schools in Nigeria and encouraged them to aim high when setting goals.
Emeka Chibuike giving his speech
“Aim for the moon,” Emeka said. “If you fail, you’ll land on the stars.”
His goal-setting advice was received with applause.
Mrs Zovannah Onumah thanked the alumni for visiting the school, saying she was proud of their achievements.
Mr Bright Adawisi also thanked the alumni for dropping by and urged the students to emulate the standards set by the alumni members.
The visit ended with the enrollment of SS3 students into Dority International Alumni Association and the presentation of an alumni funded website to the school.