Scholarship / Gathered professional and personal contacts through the network that I created as a student [3]

Chevening Networking question

Chevening is looking for individuals with strong professional relationship building skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession. Please explain how you build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity, using clear examples of how you currently do this, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future. (minimum word count: 100 words; maximum word count: 500 words)

I have been able to improve my potentials and create an ever growing network of professional and personal contacts through the network that I created as a student at the Higher Teacher Training College. It all started in 2015 when a former classmate introduced me to the webinars organised, for English Language teachers, at the James Baldwin Resource Centre (JBRC) of the US embassy. Through these webinars, I learned innovative methods which have greatly improved my teaching and established contacts with teachers from many schools. My proactivity during the webinars and my ability to network with other participants earned me selection for a seminar captioned "teaching English with online tools" organised by the Pilot Linguistic Centre and sponsored by the US embassy in 2016. Since then, I engaged in sharing the added value of the webinars with colleagues and former classmates, some of whom even benefited from special training programs of the JBRC aside webinars.

The personal contacts created during the webinars were really helpful in 2017, when confronted with the challenge of creating and running clubs at Government Technical College Ndimi. I sought and received necessary documents and tips to get me started from teachers whom I met at the JBRC. I also sought the help of former colleagues of the English Department of Government Bilingual High School Ekorezok where I taught before being transferred. They readily assisted because I am still an active member of their staff social and WhatsApp groups.

Besides building contacts in former gatherings, I equally use informal settings to establish relationships. For example, I was able to push through the idea of organising an inter-school competition between my school and Government High School (GHS) Nguila, in February 2018 as part of the activities to commemorate the National Youth Week, thanks to the help of a teacher at GHS Nguila with whom I exchanged contacts during a journey from Ntui. When I nurtured the idea of the inter-school competition and thought of Nguila because it was closer, I sought the assistance of this teacher who made the necessary arrangement for me to meet the discipline master of GHS Nguila with whom I engaged discussions that later brought the heads of our institutions together. My ability to engage the discipline masters and get the approval of both heads of institutions over this project and others shows how effective I am in developing and nurturing networks and portrays me as an influencer in both professional and social circles.

In all, my networks have helped to improve my professional net worth. I know that Chevening is a giant step towards a global network and I hope to meet and interact with people who share my ambitions and tap from them to broaden my horizon. As a scholar, I will engage with other scholars and alumni, especially with those in the education sector as well as encourage and mentor more teachers to apply for Chevening so that together we can improve our education system through international teaching exchange partnership.

Scholarship / As a teacher, I pioneer the future by inspiring younger generations. "Chevening is looking for ..." [4]

Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.

essay on Leadership and Influence skills

As a teacher, I pioneer the future by inspiring younger generations.

A current example of my influencing skills was in 2017 when I was transferred to Government Technical College, Ndimi. I discovered that extra-curricular activities were omitted, whereas they are an important component of teaching-learning. I decided to create clubs, which serve as platforms for learning and talent exposure. First, I met the Principal, with whom I shared my passion, clearly outlining the importance of clubs in terms of academic performance and learners' exposure. Then, I talked to passionate colleagues, who took over some responsibilities. I elaborated activities for each of the clubs and supervised implementation. These clubs - English Language, Journalism, Cultural dance and Theatre Arts - facilitated the commemoration some event days like National Bilingualism and Commonwealth Days for the first time since the creation of the school in 2013. Also, learners had the opportunity to participate in an inter-school competition with Government High School, Nguila as part of the activities to mark the National Youth Week. My commitment motivated both colleagues and learners to follow, improved learners' language proficiency and overall performance and placed the school at the top, classified overall best in the Mbam and Kim Division for the 2017/2018 CAP examinations. Performance in English rose from less than 15% to about 30%.

Also, I discovered that learners were not confident about the career paths/specialties they had chosen. So, I discussed with the Principal and got his approval to organise guidance/counselling sessions in school. In October 2018, I proposed activities to mark the celebration of the National Guidance Counselling Day. With the approval of the school administration, I mobilised colleagues and students, encouraged a passionate colleague, Mr Awono, to moderate the round table discussions and led a presentation on the theme of the Day - the fight against drug abuse in schools - and awarded symbolic prizes to learners who participated in any of the activities - quiz, debate, sketches. nfluence the thoughts, attitudes and actions of others

Besides displaying my commitment and proactivity in my professional work, I also identified lack of proper guidance as a major cause of delinquency in schools, which mars the efforts of teachers. Teenagers, with time on their hands, turn to crime in the absence of useful activities and parental guidance during summer holidays, with consequences on their academic, moral, social and psychological growth. Thus, in June 2018, I conceived and started a summer program to train youths to make assorted jewelries with beads, within which is embedded counselling/mentoring. First, I shared the idea in my cultural associations; then met the women of my local church during group meetings. I raised funds from my salary and partnered with a colleague to train. Most parents were reluctant to abide but we kept encouraging. This maiden project, which we intend to grow into a summer camp, introduced eighteen youths to a new livelihood mechanism, dissuaded them from undertaking street survival activities and offered guidance/counselling for choosing a career path.