SEAmester Voyage Adventure of Aimee Stollie of Morester Akademie, VanRhynsdorp and Akhona Zondo of Lawhill Maritime Centre, Simon’s Town School – Webinar organised by Dr Mariëtte Wheeler, Curriculum planner for Marine Sciences and Agricultural subjects of the Western Cape Education Department. Aimee and Akhona both gave a presentation during the webinar followed by a question-and-answer session. They spoke about the highlights and what they experienced on the SEAmester Voyage on board the SA Agulhas II. (Image above the SEAmester group – Oceans in a changing climate)
Click Here for Akhona Zondo’s Presentation and Aimee Stollie’s Presentation
Selection of slides from Aimee’s Presentation Click here for PowerPoint
A selection of slides from Aimee’s Presentation Click here for PowerPoint
Aimee and Akhona were both amazing on board and it was really good to get to know both of them. We wish them best in their future endeavors. Well done and you have set a high standard. I hope to see you in the field in the future – Mariëtte Wheeler. Left: Prof Isabelle Ansorge(SEAmester), Dr Courtney Puckree-Padua(CPUT), Dr Mariette Wheeler (WCED), Aimee Stollie, Akhona Zondo, Tahlia Henry (SEAmester)
Q&A session:
What is your career vision?
Akhona Zondo As a person that says that they love marine sciences, this was an opportunity for me to explore. That is really true, and I can say proudly that this is the industry that I see myself in in the near future. I’ve been very, very indecisive about my future career, but now I’m 100% sure, hence why I say I really recommend semester because I feel like I found myself and my passion. And whether you dislike it or not or whether exactly you would want to fit in in the field, you should just grab every opportunity. And to be honest, this is where I see myself and in the future I am planning to study Marine Sciences at CPUT to become a scientist that works on the ship. And I’d say that I was inspired by the ASCA team.
Aimee Stollie Career-wise, I am more into engineering and cause. So when I got on board the ship, I was going to study mechanical engineering. I was going to do a postgrad and probably in the UK. So that I can get into Formula One teams and then after that, hopefully I was going to service McLaren, Red Bull or Ferrari, like that was the plan. I did have an open mind towards marine engineering, so seeing the engine room and the engine itself is quite cool. But anyways, to get back to the point, I went on SEAmester and I saw what scientists actually do and I was like, OK, well now I’m not that sure. So unlike Akhona, I’m quite very indecisive. So we’ll see what the future holds for me, but I would say that the voyage has differently broadened my horizons and opened up my mind. So I can’t give a definitive answer on what I want to do one day. I’m still undecided.
Do you see that you have a role to play as kind of an ambassador or a role that you can play in your schools and motivate and inspire other learners?
Aimee Stollie I am from a small school. It is almost like a farm school type of not so many of the children. These learners are not aware of what our country has to offer. Originally, I spent most of my childhood within Cape Town, so I have been exposed to another world and opportunities. I feel like many of the children in my school don’t have that opportunity and almost have tunnel vision. I just want them to know that there is so much more and that they shouldn’t limit themselves. Gr9’s are picking subjects soon, so I would like to just talk to them and make sure that they know it’s not just nursing or police officer or a teacher that’s out there for them. There’s so much more and they should really do research and look for the opportunities, because many of the children do not know what is really out there and that limits them. I just want to make sure that they know what is out there, so they can make informed decisions. So yes, I do kind of feel like a responsibility towards them.
Akhona Zondo So Marine Sciences is quite an unique industry that one can branch into for opportunities and to break the barriers of poverty and unemployment in communities. So, I didn’t want to disclose this yet because it’s still in the process, but I have been creating some kind of a program so far, it’s not yet solid, but I will be actually speaking at schools in my community, sharing my experience on Marine Sciences and on maritime subjects. It is in the process and I shall be doing that during the holidays of September. I shall be sharing my experience and sharing about marine sciences to schools that are not exposed to the subject and to learners that don’t even know about the ocean and it’s ecosystems and what it has to offer.
If you can choose one day or event on the expedition what would it be and why?
Akhona Zondo This is quite a difficult question because I enjoyed each and every day at SEAmester, but I would say: It was when we had the seal dissections, because I was directly involved during the dissection where I was doing the scribing. I would say also the Barbie Party, it was a very fine moment and I actually got to speak with other people that I was scared to approach.
Aimee Stollie There were so many amazing moments, but I think I think there are still a few that stand out. The evening stargazing. Also, I couldn’t quite remember which day of the week it was, but I remember it being, I think in the middle of the week. And went down under the staircase and the maintenance crew would be working or they’d be relaxing in between. It was probably like 10 or 11:00 o’clock at night and a crew member brought me coffee in a glass. It was kind of weird because I’ve never had coffee in the glass before, but he brought me coffee in the glass and a plate with chicken. I was quite hungry because I think I skipped breakfast or something, so I was quite hungry, but obviously I didn’t mention it and he brought this to me and he was like today you’re officially a seafarer! They bought me the food and I was like, wow, thank you so much. That moment just made me feel so special. The last night I stayed up with 2 lecturers and 3 students and we tried to stay up all night, but I think I fell asleep twice, according to them. We were sailing towards Cape Town and I got to see the sunrise, which was quite beautiful. So I think those would be my moments.
Mariëtte Wheeler Comment: Every year there is a theme for a party and this takes place on the second last night of the voyage, to celebrate the voyage and this year it was a Barbie party.
If there was one thing that you would say to grade 11 learner to mentally prepare them for ten day voyage, what would it be?
Aimee Stollie My advice will be definitely take the chance and if you feel like you don’t know enough I promise you, you will never feel like you know enough. Ask all your questions. I would say going on the ship the first day going on board, leaving everyone behind isn’t as bad as coming back and knowing that it’s over, and it’s kind of overwhelming. But is that is my experience and I think after that you just need to appreciate that it happened and like everything that you learn and don’t waste opportunities.
Akhona Zondo I would say grab that opportunity to apply to get onto the SEAmester program and when you get there, you must make sure that you network. Network, network, network! Get to know the people who smiles. Be kind, spread kindness and you must also prepare for the seasickness. If you don’t understand anything in the lecture classes, you must make sure that you ask questions and make sure that you understand what is happening. Also whenever there’s an opportunity for you to get involved in something or they need a volunteer, just volunteer. Put yourself forward all the time.
Can you talk about safety if anybody of next year’s learners or with concerned about how safe it is
Aimee Stollie Before the voyage I wondered what would happen if we were to sink. So one of the first things that I asked the team members was what makes the ship so special. So something interesting that they told me was there is a cavity between the outer part of the ship and the ship itself. I don’t know how to explain it, but between the outer part that you see and the actual ship structure is a type of cavity, so if the ship actually were to hit something, you won’t sink immediately through some cool engineering which are fundamental precisely. And they do have lifeboats on board that look like submarines. At first I thought that they were submarines, but are actually lifeboats. I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to see them perform a life boat drill. It was like a well-oiled machine, like the knew what they were doing, but it was a manual drill. It was amazing to see them so in tune. Some people suffered the whole trip [from seasickness], me personally, I only got like dizzy and I was like disorientated, but there was no nausea, so everyone responds differently. But I assure you the ship is quite safe and there are lots of holes on the ship, so should the weather or the water come up on the ship, everything drains quite quickly and they’re small enough that you won’t fall through.
Akhona Zondo So in terms of the safety, Amy has mentioned most of the things, but safety is good and the crew is highly trained and experienced too. We also had a safety drill, we were taught how to wear a life jacket. We actually experienced some high swells in terms of the sickness, and I’d advise that you take this medication [seasick tablets]. I just want to reassure you, as future students of SEAmester, that safety is taken very seriously.
Did you come across any whales or dolphins?
Aimee Stollie So unfortunately, I didn’t see any fins. I didn’t see a whale as you would think. I saw the tail going down and the water coming out through the blow hole. So I knew there was a whale, but I did see a star which was quite cool.
Akhona Zondo I saw a whale, when we were chilling after one of our work sessions. And also we got to witness bioluminescence. I think it was the night before the end of the voyage and we saw a lot of seabirds.
How did you cope with interacting with all the students?
Akhona Zondo At first, when they saw me, some of them did not know that I was actually a great 12 student, and when I disclosed that to them, they were surprised because they thought I was very matured. I’d say I handled it well because I’m still in with most of them and I didn’t really find them intimidating, because they were kind and willing to talk.
Aimee Stollie For me it was a bit of the opposite. As I mentioned, I am not really social. I get quite intimidated to talk to new people, especially if they look intimidating. I didn’t really approach any of the students, it’s more like they came to me and they started talking to me and it actually put me more at ease. I was more relaxed, so I think after getting to know some of them, getting to know the faces when I couldn’t keep up with all the names, they kind of treated me like a little sister by always looking at me asking how I’m doing, if I’m fine, if there’s any questions that I have. So after a while I warmed up. I think after that initial little hurdle, I handled it quite well, yeah.
Last word of wisdom from you?
Aimee Stollie I would just like to say thank you to everyone. I can I say this was pretty life changing and for all of those students who are thinking “maybe I shouldn’t”, I just like to reiterate you should always take the opportunity and always talk to the people. Like Akhona said network, even if they look intimidating. In most cases the people will be some of the kindest people that you’ve ever met. Don’t be scared.
Akhona Zondo I would encourage us to continue to network, even if it’s not in a specific program or anyway in any space that you get to be and you get to meet people network and get to know the people. Try try try by all means to get out of your comfort zone because you never know what opportunity may come your way through speaking with people. Because that’s how we make it in life. We can never do it on our own. We need one another to build on, and also I would like to thank Simons Town School once again because I feel like I’ve found my passion and I’ve found my feet and I’m definitely sure this is where I want to be and this is the field that I want to be in. I hope that no other opportunity comes my way to change this, because this is where I want to be.