FROM BAKING AS A HOBBY TO DOING IT COMMERCIALLY

Meet Lourine Owiti – A Graduate in Tourism and Hospitality Management having a bliss in Baking as she applies her hospitality skills to serve the community

“My 4 years at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology were amazing. The learning was great; it gave me exposure as far as my career is concerned and was both fun and experiential kind of learning. We had good lecturers who took us through school work and life generally and impacted us with life skills; special shout out to Dr. Misiko, Mrs. Kimondo and Mr. Osiako, among others. Amazing lecturers they were.”- Lourine Owiti

Mark Anthony said that if you do what you love, you will never have to work a day in your life and on education, Albert Einstein said that Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything they learned in school. These two quotes seem to have been applied accordingly by Lourine Owiti; our graduate in Tourism and Hospitality Management who is now pursuing baking out of passion while serving in the administration of an Non – Governmental Organization (NGO) in Kisumu, Kenya.

Owiti graduated in 2015 and is currently working with an NGO called KUAP; a health NGO in Kisumu running different projects like HIV preventionand care services, HIV care and treatment, water and sanitation, clinical services, nutritional services, home based care for clients,children counseling services as well as a children rescue center. Her day to day duties involve handling clients, staff and stakeholders. While it might appear to some that Owiti is in an industry she was not prepared to work in as she pursued her course, she says that hospitality is a service.
industry and having learnt about service to clients, her studies in Tourism and Hospitality Management has helped herhandle her work and clients diligently and professionally. She further adds that hospitality taught her tobe a good manager and that has helped her quite much. This, we believe, is the real essence of education; application of knowledge and skills gained in service and in creating a better world.

In a country (and world) where looking for job is almost a full -time job for thousands of people, Owiti felt that she needed more and looked within; she turned to her passion in baking. After baking for a while as a hobby, she decided to do it commercially, especially when the COVID -19 pandemic hit. She started “Cakes by Lolo” and she bakes cakes for different occasions like birthdays, weddings,anniversaries, baby and bridal showers, corporate events; and all kinds of events where a cake is needed. Owiti is focusing on growing this business and making it bigger and better and to extend her passion in baking further, she hopes to one day create a resource centre where people can be trained on baking.

As we strive to be an Entrepreneurial University and produce more graduates who are not just job seekers but job creators, efforts such as Owiti’s are stories of success to us and we celebrate her and wish her the very best. In her words, “I would like to encourage any young person who wishes to do something for themselves; be it in business, furthering education or whatever it is to just start. Start where you are and with what you have; you just need to start, put in the work, be committed and everything will work out just right.”