My goal in life has always been to be the very best version of myself that I can be. From the time I joined the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa for my International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme to when I graduated, that was the greatest period of personal growth in my life. The Academy changed my way of thinking, my way of doing things and informed my purpose in life. 

Through a strong emphasis on the intrinsic value of education, the Academy had a lasting impact on me. I remember fondly living in residences which undoubtedly prepared me for living away from home in university. Residential life helped form bonds of friendship that I can confidently say will last a lifetime. The wisdom of dorm parents like Mr. Dudi and Mr. Prashant always helped me get through the rough tides of the IB Diploma Programme, and their words are still very much applicable to my daily life today.

In many ways, the Academy added great intrinsic value to me. However, there was more to that. The Academy demands of all its students a contribution. We lived in a space where we all felt we had to bring something to the table to the benefit of the larger community. It was in this sense of collective responsibility that I found my niche as an active member of the AKA Mombasa community. I was privileged to serve the Student Council as Secretary of the Finance Committee, a role that made me a steward of the student body’s finances. Alongside my committee, I approved the allocation of roughly US$1000 towards various service projects organised by students which had an impact on the local Mombasa community. The importance of giving back and empowering the less fortunate is built into the very fabric of the Academy’s mission and that helped me develop a profound sense of empathy.

I had the opportunity to establish a service club known as the Leo Club with the help of the local Lions Club. We went ahead to raise money for corneal transplants. With the help of my mentors Adnan and Aalia Visram, I co-founded the Academy’s first ever TEDxYouth event with my friend Preyansh Kaushik. Through TEDx we provided an incredible platform for members of our AKA Mombasa community to share their unique perspectives with millions of people across the world. TEDxYouth@AKAMombasa remains one of my proudest achievements at the Academy. Alongside my friend Inaara Savani and the constant guidance and support of Ms Alex Holland, I organised a workshop for Year 9 students on the Syrian refugee crisis. This opportunity eventually led me to Uganda in the Summer of 2016, where I volunteered as an English teacher at the Kyangwali Refugee Settlement. I was also honoured to be the Finance Executive of the CanCare club which organises the Academy’s annual blood drive. All these incredible opportunities have taught me valuable skills and have made me a driven person. Of course, all this would not have been possible without the support of my peers and faculty members.

One cannot speak about their time at the Academy without mentioning the rigorous academics geared towards creating critical, analytical and reflective thinkers. It’s through Mr. Vlad’s classes that I discovered my passion for politics because of the power it has to effect change in everyone’s lives. The strength of the curriculum and the way the teachers delivered it definitely prepared me for university workload. This combined with the numerous opportunities to get involved afforded to me ultimately won me a full scholarship to the University of Waterloo in Canada where I am currently majoring in political science and financial economics with Honours.

I still carry the spirit of AKA Mombasa with me. Since joining Waterloo, I have been involved in the organisation of the annual TEDx event, I have delivered a start-up pitch for funding at Velocity, the world’s largest free business incubator, and I have been privileged to join the first incorporated blockchain community management firm in North America as the Head of Public Relations. For now, I will continue to do what the Academy taught me to do best: contribute to my community and live out my potential in my truest self. In future I hope to go back home to Kenya and use my education and skills to help make a difference in people’s lives. Until then, I continue to live in a permanent space of gratitude for the person I am today, which I owe to the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa.

Before we enter the 2019 – 2020 academic term, we would like to spotlight a few staff from AKA Mombasa who are going on to pursue new adventures in the upcoming academic year. Here, we take a look at Academy fellow Ryan Herman and his two years at the Academy.

Ryan Herman is from New Hampshire, New England and was an Academy fellow at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. Ryan was part of the Academy’s Enrichment and Service Learning programme, and later moved on to support the Admissions and Learning Support department and the Academy’s Talent Identification Programme.

Through his time at the Academy, Ryan said he has learnt so much, which he knows will benefit him in the future.

“I have truly loved my experience and not looking forward to leaving at all, although I am very excited to arrive into my next position,” Ryan said. “I have grown a lot in this role, and through my students, I have taken on many learning experiences and moments of growth that I didn’t expect to happen. The Academy has offered me significant professional development in a variety of different aspects. But most importantly, I think my time at the Academy has taught me the importance of mentorship and has helped me value the teacher-student relationship and the type of role-model I like to be. I have experienced and discovered endless learning moments that education centers like our own can offer to its students, staff and community. For this reason, the Academy has solidified my want to stay in education, or at least working in fields that heavily involve youth.”

Ryan said he would not be where he is now if it wasn’t for the support the AKA Mombasa community provided him with during his time here.

“I feel like I came in very unsure of my way forward, mostly knowing that I enjoyed working with students and liked being out of my comfort zone,” Ryan said. “I now feel like I have a much more clear understanding of my way forward in life and what I hope to achieve, and I contribute a lot of that to the mentorship and experiences I’ve had in the Admissions department and through my boss, Kauthar Mohamed. I have come under the wing of many inspirational and thoughtful leaders, such as Kauthar, Paul Davis, Jane Okello, Minal Shah, Ruki Husain, Nuala Alibhai, Alice Ndungu, Bhagirathy Jhingran, Clare McLaughlin, etc., who have driven me crazy with aspirations for myself and my future. I feel extremely fortunate for the many circumstances that had fallen into place, somewhat coincidentally, that made my two years very unique. The most rewarding aspect of my time here was being given the support and trust to embark in my own direction and being able to make those simple initial steps concrete themselves into something tangible and beneficial.”

During his two years, Ryan has contributed to various parts of the school. Ryan was involved with the Exchange Programme’s pilot year between AKA Mombasa and AKA Hyderabad, supported the annual TEDxYouth event and strengthened the Talent Identification Programme at the Academy.

“Our network puts in immense amount of effort to empower different, disadvantaged communities around the world through education, and the Talent Identification Programme is a very tangible approach to that goal,” Ryan said. “Starting from a singular programme in January of 2018 that welcomed in year 6 students, the programme has grown to be able to tackle so much more. We now run six programmes throughout the course of a year, handle four rounds of orientations annually,  have devised an integration program for English Language Learners, provide weekly tuition for those with greater academic gaps, documented and analyzed academic trajectories and histories for four of the seven cohorts, and now support the processes of assessment, identification and communication with families.”

Ryan’s passion for working with talented students from varying backgrounds will be seen through his new position at Imagine Scholar.

“I will be working for Imagine Scholar, a non-profit in South Africa focused on providing opportunities in education for rural students,” Ryan said. “We, as the Academy, are partners with Imagine Scholar through our role in the HALI (High Achieving, Low Income) Access Network. I will be stepping in as a programme manager, focusing particularly on a programme for talented high school students.”

Kauthar Mbwana (Mohamed), the Student Leadership and Service Learning Coordinator and Senior School Enrichment Coordinator, has worked with Ryan since he came to the Academy. Kauthar said Ryan’s work ethic was very admirable and she is happy to see the person he has become during his time at the Academy.

“The first day I met Ryan and he cracked a joke I knew that we would be the best of coworkers,” Kauthar said. “Ryan is hardworking and a perfectionist when it comes to work. He would take up any task given to him and work to his level best. Ryan helped bring to life the enrichment portal that allows students to sign-up online among many other enrichment tasks. He has also taken his year 7 disability Service Learning programme to different heights, from the activities he does, to the learning experiences that occur. His thirst to do better and personal growth didn’t stop only at his main roles; he took up on more just so that he can maximise his two years at the Academy. Ryan’s charming personality shall be missed dearly; not just his passion and commitment to work, but his smile that lights up anyone’s day. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”