4th Edition Mentorship Scheme: How It Went Down

The Mentorship scheme had in attendance:

• Ms. Delia Asuzu – Senior Manager, Clients and Market Development, PwC
• Mr. Bayo Babalola – Chairman, Technical Committee, Lagos State Chess Association
• Ele Musa – Tax Consultant, PwC
• Kenoye Elliot – Quality Assurance Team, PwC
• Muele Wilcox – PwC
• Ikenna Nduaguibe – PwC
• Chess Facilitators
• District Officers
• Principals, students and Games Masters of participating schools

THE BUILDING TOUR

The PwC Chess4Change 1st Mentorship scheme kicked off with the PwC Building tour.

At Arrival, the students were addressed by Yeoma Asoro – PwC Representative. He started the tour by asking the students to share their thoughts about PwC as well as ask questions on what they wanted to know.

Few questions were asked at the company’s lounge, and the students were taken to Six departments at PwC and enlightening the students the functionalities of each department: Finance, Human Capital, Knowledge Zone, IT, Quality Assurance, Clients & Market Development. Other Facilities were their Meeting Rooms, Company Lounge, Lounge for Expectant & Nursing Mothers.

WELCOME ADDRESS

After the building tour, the students and guests were welcomed by Mrs. Deila Asuzu – Senior Manager, Clients and Market Development. She asked the students about the Learning Points from the Tour, their responses were optimistic; It was awesome, inspiring and they commended PwC for adding value to people by solving problems in the society and offering advice to businesses. Moving forward, She further explained that the objective of the tour was for the students to be inspired by what they see as a charge to continue education and follow their aspirations.

She highlighted the significance of the day which was the International Women’s Day. The students shared their views that the day was created to celebrate women across the world. She taught the students that both the male and female genders should be celebrated because they work together for the good of the society.

In conclusion, she prompted the students that the idea of PwC Chess4Change platform was set up to advance the students personality, critical thinking skills and education. She then expressed her desire to see the students get inspired to make a difference in their home and society at large.

1ST MENTORSHIP SESSION – IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

The 1st Mentorship Session was led by Mrs. Ele Musa. She started off with an Ice-Breaker Question – What is the Definition of Education? She defined Education as the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. She proceeded with delineating the difference between Education & Literacy. She emphasized that purpose of education is to develop your all round attitude and relationships in the society. Literary is the ability to read, write and understanding. Education is a bigger version of literacy.

In conclusion, she advised the students not to limit themselves to what they learn at school, they should acquire more knowledge by reading during their spare time and obtain tangible information on the internet for further insights on diverse educational topics.

TESTIMONIAL SESSION

The first testimonial session was from Debo Joseph from Eko Akete Grammar School, he shared that Chess has taught him strategy and it has also taught him how to think about the consequences of every action he takes.

The second testimonial was from Alexander Doreen from Ireti Senior Grammar School, she said Chess has improved her level of Creativity, Focus, Mathematical skills, Logical and Sequential Thinking especially when planning the next move. She further explained that it makes her logical when she foresees her reading skills when she writes down strategies.

MY CAREER STORY

Mr. Kenoye Elliot, a Chartered accountant (ACCA) shared his career story with the students. He started by asking them who they want to become in future. He continued by sharing his experience in Secondary School. He mentioned that when he was in SS 2, he was not diligent with his studies and in the process, he failed his mathematics presentation and had to repeat the class. When he resumed the new academic session, he aced all his subjects because he began to pay more attention, practice and engage his teachers when he required further clarifications.

From this, he taught the students that they should define who they want to become. “It goes beyond just saying it, it requires diligence, reading, asking questions and going beyond what is thought in class.”

He wanted to be an accountant and he was determined to top his class when he enrolled into the University. He started studying hard from inception of the session. He finished with a good degree and was employed by PwC.

At the end of his session, he mentioned that education is a continuous process. It covers all spheres of life. We keep learning every day.

During the question and answer session, he emphasized that “Success is dependent on the individual, everyone was destined to succeed”.

Ms. Muele Wilcox shared her career story by starting off with fundamental success tips. She advised the students to clear the thought that “You have to know someone before you get to where you want to be in life”. She used the analogy of her job application and pre-selection process at PwC.

She stated that she worked hard and was shortlisted for the vacant position at PwC. She further mentioned that students should put in effort, identify who they want to be and work towards achieving their goals.

In conclusion, she further advised them to do an extensive research about whatever profession or career path they are willing to pursue.

2ND MENTORSHIP SESSION – SAVING AND MONEY MANAGEMENT

This session was led by Mr. Ikenna Nduguibe. He started-off by mentioning that most people think that their salary is never enough to cater for their needs. He mentioned further that he has imbibed saving culture at a young age. During his university stint, he was able to pay his fees and settle other necessary bills from his accumulated savings.

He advised the students to start learning how to save. He encouraged the students further to learn to save towards something. “Saving shows a level of responsibility and maturity”.

He wrapped-up his session by imploring them to have a bank account and start remitting their stipends into the account or get a Piggy Bank.

MINI-CHALLENGE

A mini challenge was conducted amongst the students, the challenge was coordinated by the Chess Facilitators.

The results are outlined below:

• Eko Akete Grammar School, Lagos Island (1 – 0) CMS Girls Senior Grammar School, Bariga
• New Era Senior Secondary School, Surulere (1 – 0) Unity Junior High School, Oshodi
• Timothy College, Onike, Yaba (0 – 1) Eko Boy’s High School, Mushin
• Government Senior College, Eric Moore (1 – 0) Wahab Folawiyo Senior High School, Ikoyi
• Jubilee Model Grammar School, Orile Iganmu (0 – 1) Falomo Senior Secondary School, Ikoyi
• Ireti Senior Grammar School, Ikoyi (1 – 0) Immaculate Heart Comprehensive School, Maryland
• Lagos City College, Yaba (1 – 0) Euba Junior Secondary School, Mushin
• Kuramo Senior Secondary School, V.I (1 – 0) Eva Adelaja Senior Girls Grammar School, Bariga
• Methodist Girls High School, Yaba (1 – 0) Ajayi Crowther Memorial Grammar School
• Timothy College, Onike, Yaba (1 – 0) Birrel Avenue Senior High School, Sabo

VOTE OF THANKS

The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Alexander Doreen from Ireti Senior Grammar School, Ikoyi. She commended PwC for providing a platform to improve their Chess Skills. She also thanked the Chess Facilitators as well as their Principals and Teachers.