At the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, Ham Serunjogi – CEO and co-founder of African fintech giant Chipper Cash – realised the importance of staying connected to something larger than himself. The Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree is now serving as an advisor to the US President on African diaspora engagement.
Meet Our School Community
The students, faculty and parents of the Aga Khan Academy are a socially conscious group of people committed to the development of their communities, their nation and civil society in the world at large. They understand that knowledge is a lifelong process of inquiry that leads to intellectual and personal growth. In this section we offer vignettes of members of the Academy family who are driven by the common goal of making a positive contribution to their society.
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AKA Alumni - Welcome to our Potential Mentors
The Aga Khan Academies is looking to enhance its offerings to its graduates, in an effort to improve communication and aid these individuals as they launch into the working world. As a result, The Aga Khan Academies invites you to be part of the inaugural career mentorship initiative. It is through this one-on-one mentorship programme that we hope to connect AKA mentees (graduates) with professional mentors (alumni/other professionals). We would like for students to be able to do the following with a mentor:
- Discuss potential career choices/moves.
- Get experience that complements and gives them context to their academic pursuits.
- Practice industry-specific, transferable & self-management skills.
- Guidance to improve chances of landing jobs.
- Increase self-awareness and understanding of how to contribute to the work world.
- Expand career options by learning job search strategies.
- Exchange knowledge, insights, and experience with a mentor.
The career mentorship program would run a year in cycle, with an opportunity to renew your capacity as a mentor, if you so desire. In order to make the appropriate career matches, and understand your availability and commitment, we have a few questions to help us with the pairing process.
We ask that you kindly fill out the information request in this form (click here) Rest assured that your personal information will remain confidential and will be for the Academy’s purposes only.
We are looking forward to hearing from you!
AKA Alumni Office
Sujana Veeramachaneni: Teacher, Assistant Coordinator, Dorm Parent, Mentor
At the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, Sujana Veeramachaneni holds more than her official titles of biology teacher and Assistant Coordinator for the Diploma Programme (DP), science teacher for the Middle Years Programme, and dorm parent. Sujana also ensures her students see her as a friend, mentor and pillar of support.
“They should always feel that I’m there for them, no matter the situation, or condition or time of day,” she insists. “Sometimes I get midnight phone calls! They don’t hesitate to approach me.”
Since the majority of DP students live on campus, “My job doesn’t end in the school,” she explains. “We see them as students, and the dorm is like a home for them – so it’s like seeing them at school and at home – same child, different behaviour. Sometimes it’s difficult to draw a line, because we see them here as well as in the school – so that emotional role is with us, also."
“Of course, I have to draw the line – otherwise maintaining discipline is quite difficult – but at the same time, that line is flexible. It’s not firm – but of course, there is a thin line.”
From her side, Sujana believes that she and other staff can learn from the students’ impressive ability to control their emotions at school. “These are all teenagers,” she reflects. “We see them here, inside and outside. Sometimes, even we lose control – but the students don’t have tantrums in front of their teachers. That’s what I learn from them – how to control our emotions.”
Sujana remembers what she went through at her students’ ages, and understands the pressures they face, especially those approaching graduation from the Diploma Programme, who face multiple deadlines, university applications, and academic and personal challenges. “I always put myself in their shoes,” she emphasises, and shares with her students her anecdotes on how she dealt with stress as a student.
At the same time, she acknowledges times have changed. “This generation is under more pressure – we were not exposed to so many kinds of media or diversions. They are dealing with many things at the same time – compared to them, when we were students, we had less complexity in our lives.”
The demanding IB curriculum motivates Sujana as a teacher, even though her switch to a career in teaching was first supposed to be temporary. Sujana holds an MSc in life sciences, with a specialisation in endocrinology, and a PhD in plant physiology. Her research focused on the physio-biochemical parameters of the post-harvest life of roses, after which she worked in post-harvest floriculture in Bangalore. In 2002 she relocated to Hyderabad and started working as a teacher in an international school.
She was drawn to the demanding and challenging nature of the International Baccalaureate curriculum and in 2013 joined the Aga Khan Academy as a biology teacher. Her career at the Academy has been a learning trajectory: “I’m definitely enjoying the professional development here.” She highlights the different positions she has held over the years, as well as gaining confidence over the years in teaching, helping, and guiding Special Education Needs (SEN) students, and the training, support and resources she has received from the SEN specialist at the Academy.
She also appreciates that the Academy itself is always developing – every year different projects, opportunities and ideas are introduced or planned for the future, and she praises the community service that the school ensures students experience: “It is inculcated in the students – the mission itself is very good and strong.”
The Academy is also always learning from its students; if, for example, some students stand out at drawing or music, the staff will learn from those strengths, and apply what they learn with students in the next batch. The curriculum is reviewed every year, and coordinators and deans take sessions every year to improve and upgrade their skills.
Academically, Sujana especially appreciates the opportunities students have to explore their own interests and to learn independently – “That is the beauty of the Extended Essay.”
“It’s very dynamic,” she explains, and she describes the Extended Essay as a “piece of research work, where the student will find their passion” and submit an essay akin to a mini-thesis.
Because “the curriculum has the scope to identify the strength of the student in different ways” and “the student will design their own labs,” independence and the opportunity to follow one’s own interests is important: “Every student’s choice is different,” she says.
As their teacher, Sujana enjoys the intricacies of guiding the students individually and tailoring her teaching style to their interests and strengths. This year, she is supervising six students, whose self-selected Extended Essay projects explore a range of topics including hydroponics, the greenhouse effect and carbon dioxide concentrations, mushroom cultivation, seed germination, and the effect of music on the growth of plants.
Sujana enjoys being able to show her dynamic, expressive side at the Academy and the freedom of teaching styles and resources that is not always available at other schools. But she finds even more satisfaction in mentoring than in teaching, and it is most rewarding when her students achieve their goals – obtain university admission, get their diploma, or overcome an obstacle when they thought they couldn’t cope, but were “able to achieve something with our guidance.”
She emphasises the need to be adaptable and compassionate towards her students, both for academic and emotional support. “You have to tailor yourself to the needs of the students because some students, you really have to encourage them, motivate them, and some students – at times you have to be firm, strict,” she explains. “I change myself, as per their needs.”
When asked what she envisions for her students’ futures, Sujana replies that she wants them to identify their passions and to continue doing what they like. “I want them always to be confident.
By Natasha Pirani
Service Learning Spotlight- Sarah Wulff
Aga Khan Academy Mombasa – National Choral Champions!
Swim Champion Rachita Shah Sets New Records
Karim Ismail : Empowering teachers to nurture leaders
Joining the Academy virtually for the new academic year 2020 - 2021, our new Senior School Principal is excited to provide support to our teachers and collaborate with them in order to make as big an impact as possible as a group.
From his university days, Karim Ismail knew he wanted to work with young people and has not looked back since. Grateful for the experiences during his education, he felt compelled to share the love for learning amongst youngsters and recreate those experiences for students around the world.
“Understanding how I could ensure that other students get similar opportunities to build their character and personality made it an easy career decision,” he shared on his choice to become a teacher.
Hailing from the UK, Karim’s journey as a teacher and school leader has taken him all over the world including Kenya, Uganda, India, South Africa and Mozambique to name a few. He was working at an IB institution when he was recruited as one of the founding teachers of the Senior School at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad. Having worked for the Academies and other IB institutions in various leadership capacities, Karim now joins the AKA Maputo as the Senior School Principal.
Reflecting back when he held a similar role in Hyderabad, he said there are a number of reasons why it was special for him. “The time spent in Hyderabad not only gave me the opportunities to contribute towards student and teacher development but was developmental for me as a teacher and a leader as well. And I was proud to see through our first cohort of graduates in the Diploma Programme. I have very fond memories of my time in Hyderabad.”
Identifying the impact of education policy and the influence of change at a systemic level, Karim has experience in non-classroom based roles as well. He has worked with many schools in order to build on existing capacities to improve potential and has qualified to train teachers to become IB certified which is something he still does today.
“Taking the opportunity to step out of the classroom and partner with schools to focus on their institutional improvement was eye-opening. I have had the privilege of visiting excellent institutions and seeing their practices in place, and learning on each occasion. Meeting and training IB teachers from all corners of the world allows you to understand those educational contexts and their valuable diversity. Inevitably this work brought me back to working with the Aga Khan Academies.”
In his visits to the AKA Maputo, he has played an important role in understanding how to improve upon the quality of mathematics education, looking at changes in curriculum as well as their implementation. He brings this same analytical eye to the Senior School where he is excited to work full time with his new colleagues in Maputo. Having worked with the teachers in Maputo on various occasions, Karim lauds the teachers at the Academy for their strong set of core values which resonate with him; enabling him to provide support and encourage teachers in their mission to nurture leaders.
“Students have huge potential to become leaders. And our teachers, in my opinion, are the only way we're going to achieve that. They are the key drivers of change. They’re going to influence minds. They're going to be the relationship holders with that student body. And so my role is very much to give the teachers what they need, provide that space and encouragement, be that support and give them resources to allow them to do that job to the best of their capability.”
Praising the Academy for its quick and comprehensive response to the challenges posed by COVID-19, he found the quality of the online programme comparable to some of the best on offer with regards to its points of contact, rich content and technical tools deployed therein. While he agrees that the unique in person contact experience cannot be replicated, the Academy strives to achieve similar outcomes.
“If you have good relationships with your students, you can get the most out of them and they can work with you to identify their barriers, to push through their challenges and go through their good and bad days knowing that they have that support as a constant anchor for them in the classroom, virtual or otherwise.”
But there have also been a few silver linings through this unprecedented time. Karim points out that online learning has allowed students to develop their own skills in terms of organisation, their independence as a learner as well as their self-reliance and grit which will be hugely important moving forward.
Highlighting another boon in the transition to online learning, he finds that it, “facilitates the opportunity to provide intervention and support that cannot always be offered in a physical classroom, and this can lead to a better understanding of students’ needs, and positive impact on their progress.” He adds that this can be applicable to mathematics, language learning and other areas whereby the faculty are equipped to individualise instruction, provide feedback in a more direct way to students and in essence, help them bridge some of their prior gaps and misconceptions in a more efficient way.
Feeling honoured and privileged to be serving in his new role, he said, “I recognise this opportunity to really support the vision of what we're trying to do at the Academy. For our students, it's one of the most unorthodox experiences they have had educationally and in their lives. And I'm heartened and proud of the way in which I've seen people demonstrate grit and perseverance to get through this. That's going to make them stronger people.”
“And as we come back together as a physical school community in the future, I look forward to sharing those experiences, strengthening our Academy community, and appreciating the stimulation and freedom that comes with access to schooling. We have an incredibly exciting journey ahead.”
Stephen Nyundo: Fostering students’ growth through Mathematics
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 Stephen Nyundo, a Mathematics teacher and head of the department, and his five years at the Academy.
Stephen Nyundo is from the Kenyan coast, specifically from a place called Kaloleni and was the head of department for the Mathematics department at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. Apart from the Mathematics department, Stephen was also the year level leader for year 9.
During his five years at the Academy, Stephen said he has admired the supportive relationships he’s made, which have helped him become a better teacher.
“My experience has been enriching and very rewarding at the Academy,” Stephen said. “I have interacted with friendly and accomodating people who did not look at my weaker side. People would tell me things would be fine, even when they actually appeared otherwise. I was supported in my early years in my professional growth and got an opportunity to learn all that I needed to learn. I will miss the family, friendship, strong ties and network I’ve built here. I will definitely miss the Friday treats.”
Stephen said the ethics and values instilled at the Academy not only influenced the students, but himself as well.
“The Academy has molded me to what I now am,” Stephen said. “I will carry with me the Academy values that I am sure will propel me to greatness.”
For the Mathematics department, Stephen said he has worked with students to develop methods on helping other students who might struggle with the subject.
“A good example is 'Euler Fulfillers', a YouTube initiative by two of my Mathematics HL students who came to me with the idea,” Stephen said. “After brainstorming, we thought this was the best move where Academy students can share with their fellow students in the Academy what they know best and also help others out with challenges in Mathematics. The other platform is the ‘MathMagic’, which brought together students from all of the classes to showcase how Mathematics is applied in real-life in the various units covered. The next platform we had planned to start working on was the 'Mathletics', which is a modified form of a treasure hunt. This is where talent is found; students make use of what they have learnt in the classroom to various situations in real-life.”
After his time at the Academy, Stephen said he is ready to pursue other teaching opportunities. However, Catherine Orwe, a Mathematics teacher who works with Stephen, said he will be dearly missed at the Academy by both students and his colleagues.
“Stephen has not been just a colleague for us, but a true friend and a person with a big heart,” Catherine said. “He always made time for all even when he had tight schedules to meet. He is always very positive even when the rest of the crowd was struggling with issues. He always worked very collaboratively with colleagues to achieve our departmental goals. He pleaded with members’ input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise, and he was always willing to learn from all of us. Yes, we have learnt so much from him. He is an amazing Mathematics teacher, and I know his students here will miss him. Stephen is a person that pays attention to details in everything that you do and he is the one who would point out the changes that we needed to make in our presentations both at table and the curriculum implementation. We will definitely miss having a wonderful friend like Stephen. Good luck to him in his future endeavors! We hope the new place he goes to is full of fun and happiness.”
