“A student adviser also needs to be a good listener, be able to handle applicants with different personalities and temperaments and do many different tasks at the same time, so multitasking is a vital skill to possess.”
Marvin Kituyi, Student Adviser at the UNICAF Call Centre in Nairobi, Kenya
Student advisers are the face of the UNICAF organisation. They are the first point of contact for applicants seeking to pursue degree programmes offered by partner universities. That’s why our role is so important.
We make this first contact with the applicant and then guide them successfully through the application process up to the point of enrollment.
Student advisers must be knowledgeable on all programmes offered through UNICAF, must have a deep understanding of the application process and be able to provide concrete and meaningful information to applicants. A student adviser also needs to be a good listener, and be able to handle applicants with different personalities and temperaments and do many different tasks at the same time, so multitasking is a vital skill to possess.
An awkward experience I’ve had as a student adviser was when I called an applicant who initially responded positively, and upon hearing the payment plan for a Master’s in Business Administration, acknowledged that it was a very good offer. To my surprise, I received a rather long email from the applicant two days later calling me a scammer and threatening to use his influence to send me to jail!
My best reward as an adviser is having the satisfaction of seeing my applicants enroll for their first class. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and great pride to have helped these people take the first step to change their lives.
