When Alice Kang’arua finished high school, she worked as a waitress in a small hotel in her home town waiting to go to college. This is where her passion for the hotel industry began and where she developed a strong desire to join the famous Kenya Utalii College. Her school grades qualified her for two courses and she chose Housekeeping and Laundry. “I never in my wildest dreams thought i would make it to my current position”, remarks Alice. “The furthest i thought i would go was to be an Executive Housekeeper. However, having gone through Kenya Utalii College, i must say that it was a great foundation to my career path.
As a product of Utalii college, I am proof of the very best training in my opinion.
I appreciate every bit of all the two year training. The all round thoroughness that KUC gave to the students was out of this world. Discipline was highly maintained, shaping us from an early stage to be responsible leaders. Self-esteem, integrity, business ethics, and professionalism were key values. Alice Kang’arua appreciated most the detailed outline of the courses, – where everything from the very basic training to the top levels, was elaborately laid out-. “It was very interesting to learn that there are 10 steps that one has to take to ‘Clean the Toilet’ or to ‘Iron a Shirt’ or to ‘Make a Bed’. These are just a few examples that the lay man would take for granted. I also learnt management skills including budgeting. One really appreciates the details taken to produce great five star results.”
“I have a lot of fond memories of Utalii, but one that stands out is when the then President Daniel Arap Moi visited the college for the very first time and I was privileged to be one of the selected ten hostesses for this VIP event. This remains a memorable moment for me.”
RELATED ARTICLE: One of the most respected hospitality experts in Sub Saharan Africa
Alice speaks fondly of the togetherness of the Utalii family and the school’s fraternity between staff, lecturers and students. “When i attended the college, the total number of students was about 700 and there were interesting interactions between students, including with the international students. My best friend was a beautiful lady from Burundi. There were a lot of social events like sports days, monthly parties, Africa Nights and Cultural days. Some student relationships even turned into happy marriages!” Alice remains very proud of her old college. “Kenya Utalii College has always and still is very highly regarded and recognized in the region. It has time and time again produced very productive quality graduates for the #tourism and #hospitality industry. I have personally met top management fellow former students in hotels i Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the United Kingdom and the united Arab Emirates.
In my opinion the strictness and maintenance of the set standards was #KenyaUtalii secret weapon for its success.” Alice was invited to Utalii college as an External Examiner from the Industry for the annual final exams for five consecutive years as well as one National Tourism Competitions Awards Final. She also gave a Motivational Talk to Housekeeping and Laundry students.
“What i have learnt in Kenya Utalii College has helped me a lot in my current employment.”
Currently, Alice Kang’arua is the Marketing and Co-operative Affairs Manager for G.North & Son Ltd, dealing mainly i the supply and maintenance of Laundry and Kitchen commercial equipment and irrigation and Agriculture machinery. She is also in charge of the Hospitality department.