Anthony Nguga – Alumni Front Operations is a leading example of Kenya Utalii College success stories. ” I first learned about Kenya Utalii College whilst at Tala high school when I was about to sit for my A levels. In a brochure of Kenyan leading Universities, since at the time it was not offering undergraduate programs”, he explains. ” I never chose KUC. Like most of my classmates, I wanted to go to university and study law, engineering or accounts,” he continues.According to him, being an hotelier and a great one at that was a call of destiny.
He passed his A levels and qualified to go to university, but not being placed in the course of his choice ended up not going at all. Anthony Ngunga worked as a teacher and had even joined the army when he began to admire a high school friend of his who had gone straight to Utalii. “I really admired how much he had changed and how he carried himself. Most of this was learned at the College. I applied for front desk operations course and that’s how I started the most amazing journey of my life.”According to Anthony Ngunga the beginning at #KenyaUtalii was very difficult with discipline a key cornerstone of the school. “You had to be in class five or ten minutes before time and I never saw anyone arrive in class after the lecturer. What’s more, once allocated a job it had to be done perfectly in a certain manner and precision.
” He remembers how everyone’s attire had to be just right. “I had never seen students so scared to have non regulation nails! “Another find memory was the student lecture relationship at Utalii. Anthony Ngunga remembers it as almost profound ” There was reverence from students towards the lecturers. To date I meet them and even though I have advanced in my career, I still have undivided respect for them. They were not just our lecturers, they were also mentors”.His career journey began with a humble position as a receptionist at the Serena hotel. His diligence in carrying out his desk duties saw him promoted to a higher position to Serena Amboseli. “On my second year, Mark Golden, my mentor, the then GM of Serena came to Amboseli. He was so impressed with what I was doing at Amboseli and promoted me to a higher position to Nairobi. That’s how I came to management “, he says. He attributes his success to the lifelong lesson of discipline, focus and a positive attitude he learnt from #KenyaUtalii College.
As a GM, he is was a team leader of about 330 employees of the Sarova PanAfric hotel. His biggest challenge is to provide leadership, strategy, and to serve as a role model and a mentor to his staff. My job is challenging but when done in the right way, the simplest. I enjoy the job mentorship”, he adds. Anthony Ngunga is currently the General manager of Crowne Plaza, one of the leading hotels in Nairobi. He is also known as the #blackboss and has been around the hospitality circle for many harvests, having worked for Sarova group, Serena hotels, Safari park, Superior hotels and Pride Inn hotels. He also sits in various hospitality boards. He was the Nairobi region chair and member of the National board of Kenya Association of Hotel keepers and Caterers and acted as a member and the chairman of the KUC alummi association. Mr Ngunga is an effervescent man, with a robust personality!