Inspirational Travel

When I was 12 I was lucky enough to go on a whirlwind 3 week tour of the USA – New York, Niagara, Colorado, San Francisco, Las Vegas , Grand Canyon and Florida. The dollar was a very favourable $2.40 to the pound and we managed to obtain a deal flying with TWA, so that our internal flights were £25 each. For me the trip was mind-blowing and opened my eyes to a more advanced and competitive economy. From the bright lights of New York to the beauty of flying over the Grand Canyon I was truly inspired by the country and what it had to offer. The inspiration never left me and as a student I went back to the New York area to work as an intern for 3 months and it was during this trip that I learnt about the importance of business online overnight competitiveness.

This week I have had the pleasure of meeting our new 10-Week Short Course students from Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda and Senegal. At our opening barbeque we talked with them about topics including different cultures, styles of leadership and political corruption, and I felt alive with this rich network of cultures all in one room and sharing their experiences.

It really brought home to me just how powerful and important travel and experiential learning is within our scholarship programme. On their 10 week journey the students will experience everything from the entrepreneurialism of London’s Borough Market, to helping host a vision of Africa exhibition for 5,000 school children. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the students grow in confidence and knowledge and it reinforces why the scholarships play a vital role in developing the change makers of the future.