In an interview conducted in May by Maisha Magic East's 'Story Yangu', Nairobi Woman Representative, Esther Passaris, narrated that her first job was that of a Guest Relations Manager at the Nyali Beach Hotel.
Passaris recounted that after she completed high school, she wanted to study hotel management but that was not possible because her father did not have the finances.
"When I got accepted to the University of Sare and took the letter to my father, he told me that there were other children whose needs also needed to be catered for," she recalled.
It is at this point that Passaris resorted to working at the hotel, bearing in mind that the hotel industry was the booming business in Mombasa, her hometown.
"My first job was at Nyali Beach hotel, where I worked as a Guest Relations Manager. My job was to make sure that the visitors were properly looked after," she divulged.
While still at the hotel, Passaris would also engage in marketing, something she states gave her a lot of experience in the business. In 2002, she started the 'Adopt a light limited company,' whose vision was to light up East Africa when the sun set.
Passaris was also a model in the 90's and in 1991, she was crowned runners up during the Miss Kenya contest.
The woman representative's mother described her as a very playful child.
"She is my second born daughter and was very playful. After working at Nyali Beach hotel, she told me that she wanted to go to Nairobi," she noted.
Passaris is now the Nairobi Woman Representative. However, in 2013, she vied for the same position but lost to current Gender CAS, Rachel Shebesh.
