OMET Student Camp Empowers Future Leaders from Across South Africa

The Old Mutual Education Trust (OMET) successfully hosted its annual student camp, bringing together new scholarship holders and final-year students from diverse disciplines across South African universities.

Under the theme “Ignite Your Future,” the camp provided a dynamic space for students to reflect, connect, and prepare for the academic year ahead.

This milestone event also marked 20 years of OMET’s holistic student support, which spans financial support, academic resources, mental health services, and career development. Head of OMET, Leonie Sampson, warmly welcomed attendees and introduced the facilitation team. She encouraged students to fully embrace the opportunities presented during the camp, highlighting how the knowledge and skills gained could meaningfully shape their future success.

The camp featured curated sessions tailored to the students’ respective stages in their academic journeys. New students were introduced to OMET’s integrated support model and guided through the transition from high school to university. Workshops focused on building resilience, academic readiness, personal branding, and financial literacy, equipping them with practical tools and a strong sense of belonging.

Final-year students benefited from sessions such as Insights Profiling, where they explored their colour energies and learned how to leverage these insights in the professional world. They also took part in reflective, future-focused activities designed to deepen self-awareness, strengthen professional identity, and prepare for financial independence and workplace realities. These sessions helped them reflect on their personal growth, refine their career goals, and align their strengths with future opportunities.

A standout joint session, Goal Getter – Manifest & Achieve, brought both cohorts together for vision boarding and purposeful goal setting. Described as motivational and deeply reflective, the session inspired clarity around personal, academic, and career goals, reminding students of the power of intention.

Sampson reiterated OMET’s belief in the long-term value of these experiences:

“It was amazing to see students from different backgrounds and stages of their academic careers come together to learn and grow. We believe the skills gained during this camp will be invaluable as they navigate their future paths.”

The OMET student camp is the first of several interventions planned throughout the year. This annual Connect session sets the tone for the journey ahead, clarifying OMET’s expectations and reinforcing the importance of growth mindset, performance, and support at key academic milestones. For students in their intermediate years, in-person Campus Connect events foster the same sense of belonging and community.

These touchpoints, alongside academic support webinars, tutoring, mental health initiatives, career readiness initiatives, digital platforms like Udemy, and vacation work opportunities, form part of OMET’s data-driven, holistic support model. These initiatives empower students to thrive during their studies and beyond.