On Thursday 9 March, Essex Cricket held a ‘Women in Leadership’ event with local secondary schools to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The pupils from Grays Convent High School and William Edward School attended the event on board Ambassador’s cruise ship, Ambience and were joined by Essex Cricket staff; Lauren Onojaife (Girls Participation Manager), Natalie Samaranayake (Women & Girls Operations Manager), Chloe Dack (Girls Participation Officer) and Kimberley Blundell (Commercial Marketing Executive).
Once onboard, the students enjoyed a grand tour of Ambience before listening to an engaging Q&A with female members of staff from Essex Cricket and Ambassador Cruise Line.
Essex Cricket were represented by a mixture of staff from both playing and non-playing backgrounds to share their experiences of working in their respective areas:
- Grace Melhuish – Girls Performance Pathway Lead at Essex Cricket & Emerging Players Programme (EPP) Lead Coach at Sunrisers
- Angela Tuff – Umpire Development Officer
- Kimberley Blundell – Commercial Marketing Executive
Also on the panel was Danni Warren, Sunrisers Regional Director of Women’s Cricket.
Ambassador Cruise Line staff spanned a wide variety of departments:
- Nicola Harper – Head of Trade and Distribution
- Gemma Bassey – Head of Pre and Post Cruise
- Sarah Partridge – Reservations Manager
- Rebecca Jones – Marketing Manager
After this, the pupils completed a project in groups to re-design the Ambassador Cruise Line logo as well as marketing ideas for the partnership with Essex Cricket. They had some fantastic presentations and it was brilliant to see the young girls put their ideas forward confidently in front of professionals.
Congratulations to Grays Convent who were the winning school and received two Essex Cricket bats. Their two pupils who presented on behalf of their group also received a playing shirt each.
Lastly, all pupils, teachers and staff experienced a five-course meal in the restaurant courtesy of Ambassador Cruise Line before disembarking to share the exciting news of the day with their friends and family at home.
Natalie Samaranayake, Essex Cricket Women & Girls Operations Manager
It was fantastic to partner with Ambassador Cruise Line for our celebration of International Women’s Day.
Getting to compete against other local secondary is so important for girls; getting to put the skills they train into matches can help embed a passion for the game and hopefully keep them active in the sport for longer. This is a key age when a lot of girls drop out of sport so to work together to try and enthuse their love for cricket has such a positive impact.
The panel Q&A was an excellent chance for the girls to see what careers are available locally with Ambassador and also how they can work in cricket outside of playing. Having so many successful women sitting together and discussing their roles was such an inspiration and the feedback from both schools has been really positive.
Danni Warren, Sunrisers Regional Director of Women’s Cricket
It was a pleasure to join Essex Cricket in the Community and Ambassador Cruises for their recent event, hosted brilliantly on board the inspiring ship Ambiance. Seeing the pupils from both schools so engaged throughout, taking in the experiences of those working in both the cricket and travel industries and showcasing their own talents with the task set, made the event very special. Sunrisers look forward to working with everyone again in the future.
Karen Smith, William Edwards School
Our year 9 girls had a fantastic day onboard Ambience. They had an amazing opportunity to listen from Women that Lead at Essex Cricket and Ambassador Cruise Line. Being around such inspiring women in such a fabulous setting has given them an International Women’s Day event they will never forget.
Siobhan Franklin, Grays Convent High School
It was a really great opportunity for our pupils to see the inside of the Cruise Ship. They completely loved the chance to be in such a luxurious environment and be waited on by attentive staff- very different to a school day! The girls found the interview panel insightful and inspiring, with many showing an interest in careers in the travel industry, and being surprised by the variety of careers available within Essex Cricket. It was a very memorable experience and one they wont forget!
Pupil Quotes, Grays Convent High School
Riya Prabakaran
I was able to interact and be more sociable with people, and experience and explore new things. Going forward I hope the school can put forward more events like this one.
Louisa Haartroppe
It was a really exciting experience and the food was nice. The cruise as a whole is a piece of beautiful scenery. The staff were really nice and helpful.
Goda Budenaite
I really enjoyed the ambassador cruise trip as I finally found out what a cruise looks like. I loved the tour and the women who spoke about their day-to-day lives. I hope we do this again.
