I’ve been staying at the Uongozi Centre, part of the Mpesa Foundation Academy, where I sat for the K.C.S.E exam. Studying at Strathmore University has provided a conducive environment for study. I’ve also been putting my skills to the test at the IT lab here. While at the Academy, my team was chosen to represent the country at the University of Delaware’s Diamond Challenge for high school entrepreneurs. At the moment, I’m currently working with a local company on a project that was presented at the KCB Lions’ Den.
After receiving a call from my course administrator in Strathmore informing me that I would start my studies online, I was worried. I feared unstable electricity and internet access would mess with my classes. Distraction from siblings was my other worry. However, the university has worked tirelessly to ensure that every student has a laptop delivered to their homes as well as stable internet access to all its students. Similarly, the incessant follow-up by the faculty at Strathmore to ensure everyone is safe and that lessons are not interrupted cleared all my fears.
Since the beginning of my studies in April, I have had various experiences. My best experience so far about starting my university journey through emergency remote learning has been the fact that I can be able to replay the video of our class whenever I need to revise. This is different from a physical class where in case I did not get a concept well I either look for a fellow student or a teacher who might not be easily available. I am therefore thrilled that I can now review the whole class on a click of button and polish up ideas that were not well understood during the live session. In addition to that, the lecturers have been highly supportive and accessible online to clarify concepts that we might not have understood well.
I cannot wait to go to school physically and join the Rugby team. It has always been my wish to try a new game-rugby. I also look forward to joining more clubs and societies. I have currently been assisting high-school students by tutoring them virtually during my free time to keep them busy and focused and therefore I’m looking forward to engaging in more community projects when I get on campus. I also look forward to joining @iLab so that I can be able to grow my innovative business projects and deploy them to the market.
In have to admit that everything that I have been doing has not been a walk in the park. Some concepts have been tough. Working on group assignments by organizing group discussions virtually has not been easy. However, my slogan, “Nothing good comes easily”, has kept me moving. I cannot think of quitting because whatever I’ll choose to do after quitting will still not be easy at some point. Passion in my course and technology has also been my driving force. Apart from that, the dependable support from Strathmore mentors and faculty has been very fundamental during this difficult time.
I look forward to having my innovative business projects incubated @iBizAfrica so as to deploy them to the market. I see entrepreneurship as my platform to solve problems and an avenue to become a job creator. Even as I work hard in my studies, the end goal is to work on projects on my own and I look at education as the foundation of my future ventures.
I would like to encourage all the youth that this global pandemic period will one day come to an end. Let us, therefore, make use of the available materials in the meantime to harness all the opportunities which might come to our disposal. As much as it will not be easy, it is better than doing nothing. Let’s strive to equip ourselves with new skills. Let’s learn how to cook. Let’s learn about coding. Let’s learn skating. Let’s learn swimming and most importantly, let’s support each other. We shall overcome!
All the best Gideon (Great man)