Why we are taking students on tour of 21 universities in Canada

How did a chartered accountant find herself in the travels and tours business?

A chartered accountant can fit into any type of industry or organisation. Having worked as an accountant for over 10 years, I felt it was time for me to take a break and explore the world of  entrepreneurs and do something that I have passion for, travels. So in 2014, I resigned from paid employment and formed Sarcelle Tours.

 

What were the challenges you faced when you started your travels and tours business?

The challenges I faced are the same challenges peculiar to every entrepreneur and every new business owner in Nigeria. The challenges of capital; creating awareness for your business, letting people know what you do and winning their confidence to patronise you.  For instance, the educational tour that we organised in the United Kingdom some time ago, we had to do a lot of work, to get parents to believe in us and release their children to take part in the tour.

 

What was educational trip about?              

It was a literacy trip to Suffolk, United Kingdom for children between the ages of six and eight. It was a holiday camp focused on  Literacy such as public speaking, reading, writing and speaking.Student had lessons in these areas of literacy  and their knowledge  was tested through an external examination backed up with Certification. We were there for 12 days and it was great learning with fun. Some parents have come to enquire about  when we are going to have a repeat. We are thinking of doing something along that line again for both primary and secondary school children.

 

What are you working on presently?

I am working on a project called the Trailblazer. Trailblazer is an educational tour; and we have  a university fair coming up. This is targeted at secondary school pupils; we know that at sooner or later, they would start thinking about what university they want to attend. In Nigeria,parents who can afford  it send their children abroad for their university education.  We thought we should let people know there would be university fairs  in the month of September through November organised by Trailblazers. I am one of the organisers of the event.  My childhood friend who knew I had organised a couple of tours outside of Nigeria invited me to join the trailblazer so that I could be part of the organisers.  We want to give parents the opportunity to check out the universities in Ontario, Canada. They don’t have to wait until their children are in their final year in the secondary school before making their choice and that is why we are extending it to every student in secondary school from the first year to final year to help them start planning ahead.

 

What is the objective of the trip?’

The objective of the trip is to introduce the students to all the 21 universities in Ontario, Canada. They will get to visit  all the universities and have one-on-one contact with some of the existing university students, the lecturers and the school authorities. They will get the opportunity to explore the universities, ask questions and see how universities operate in Ontario Canada. Having visited all the 21 universities, they would have the opportunity to compare all of them and pick the ones they would really love to attend. It is an opportunity for the children to know and start thinking about the universities they want to attend. While on the part of the parents, they too can come along to check out the universities by themselves or just send their children to pick their choice. For the parents who do not want to follow us to Canada, their children will give them the feedback and they will have an idea of the fee and start saving and planning ahead. I think it is a wonderful opportunity for both parents and children to sign up on the university tour. It is a very interesting trip that will be highly beneficial so, everyone who aspires to study in Canada should sign up for it.

• Why I used 11 pens in two hours to write Civics exam in school —Ajibola

Are all the 21 universities you are visiting licensed to operate by the Canadian authority? It has been discovered that some universities that some Nigerians go to abroad are mushroom universities that are not licensed to operate?

I am not disputing that but we don’t work with people that don’t have the right accreditation and licensed to operate. The universities we are partnering with institutions that are licensed to operate.  We deal directly with the universities.  The universities are there on the internet, you can Google them and visit their websites. You can check out their rankings and ratings.  You can contact them directly and ask them questions if you want to. We have the names of all the universities on our flyers. Parents can do their homework ahead of the trip.

 

What is the requirement for joining the universities tour?

We have a website trailblazer.net where students can register online by a certain date. Full payment confirms the trip. Once you register and make a payment, we will send you all the information you need to know.  The fee includes the flight from Lagos to and from Ontario, accommodation, feeding, transportation within Ontario and tickets to tourists’ attractions and fun places in Ontario. We are planning to take 30 people on the trip. We have seven tours all together from September all through November. We have deadlines for registration for those who will need to get a visa and that will take about six weeks to do. All of these are important for logistics. Parents who are interested should go on the website and get all the necessary information they need there. Each tour will last for nine days.

 

After the trip, will you help students who are interested in any of the universities with the admission process? 

For parents who require assistance with the admission process, payment of fee and so on, we can assist with all of that. The relationship with the parents will not stop at the end of the tour; it will be a continuous one with both parents and the university.