On the corridors of Spelman college in Atlanta Georgia in April this year, we met an ambitious Kenyan girl, Kezia Oketch. She walked tall and determined.
Her dreams vividly clear in her mind, a hope to defy the odds and a vision to shape up passion that almost went to waste. Her life is already an inspiration to the girl child back home and her future is firmly in her hands.
She went to the USA to pursue a Computer Science course and later as she said, she will endeavor to solve the many technical problems back in Kenya -she is a problem solver but her journey to Spelman hasn’t been without problems.
Kezia Oketch's father Samson Oketch says her daughter secured a scholarship to study in the US due to her determination to succeed in life. IMAGE CREDIT: KTN via CHAMS MEDIA
Kezia has literally defied odds, challenged the status quo and shaped her own path. She was born in a remote village of Dudi in Homabay County and schooled in the same region. But her determination saw her score an A- in the 2014 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education at St Francis Nyangajo Girls. It is from this moment that Kezia began her journey to Spelman.
“I went to Dudi Primary school then to St Francis Nyangajo Girls in Rachuonyo Sub County. From there, I earned a place in the Equity Group Foundation,” Kezia narrated to Daring Abroad.
Adding that, “When I scored good marks in KCPE, I had no one to pay my school fees until I shared my story with teachers of St Francis Nyangajo Girls whom I met at a tour in Mombasa.”
Kezia's place in the Equity Foundation Group earned her a platform in Equity African Leaders Program that allowed her to apply for schools abroad.
So how did she finally join Spelman?
Kezia got admission letters to 12 international universities but chose Spelman due to what she called good incentives. The cost of her full stay in Spelman is Sh5.6m per year which is paid for.
A beneficiary of the Equity Group Foundation scholarship, Kezia chose to study Computer Science instead of her dream course in Neuroscience.
“When I came here, I wanted to do Biology and Neuroscience but it is a collaborative course between my college and another one which now makes it difficult for international students,” Kezia said.
But she is still motivated to pursue her dream career. She is the last born in a family of seven and loved going to school and studying, her mother says.
“Kezia was a great child who loved going to school, she loved education. I worked so hard in the farm to pay her fees,” Kezia's mother Dorina Awino says.
Upon completion of her studies abroad, Kezia hopes to come back to her country Kenya and use her skills to solve problems in various sectors.
“Every time I’m here I have my country in mind,” she says.
Watch her insightful interview in the video below :
