In December 2024, Alex Karuru Guchu placed 1st in Kenya and 24th worldwide in the Financial Management (FM) paper of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) examinations. Just over a year later, in March 2026, he achieved a similar feat, this time ranking 1st in Kenya and 18th worldwide in Strategic Business Leader (SBL), one of his final papers. You would think those two accolades would define his journey. Yet when I ask Alex what he considers the proudest moment of his three years pursuing the rigorous ACCA at Strathmore University, he does not mention either ranking. Instead, he speaks about the paper he failed.

Sandwiched between those two achievements was the Strategic Business Reporting (SBR) paper, which he failed in 2025, shaking his confidence and making him question whether he had made the right decision to enrol for ACCA. See, it had not been his first nor his second choice. He had initially hoped to study medicine, but a lower Biology grade ended that dream. He subsequently enrolled for a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Nairobi, although he still felt something was missing until a cousin who had pursued the programme encouraged him to try ACCA at Strathmore.

The connection was instant. Soon, he was efficiently juggling both programmes while excelling in all his examinations, including topping the FM paper in 2024. This made his SBR failure all the more unexpected. “When I got the results, I cried,” he recalls. “It really shook me because it was the first paper I had ever failed. I even thought about quitting because I had never experienced something like that before.” For a student accustomed to success, the disappointment was deeply personal. Yet it became the defining moment of his journey. Rather than quit, he registered for the paper again, passed it on his second attempt and kept going. By the time he sat for SBL in 2026, rankings were no longer on his mind.

“At that point, I wasn’t thinking about rankings,” he recalls. “I just wanted to finish ACCA.” When the results were released in March 2026, he had once again emerged as the top SBL candidate in Kenya while placing 18th worldwide. For Alex, the achievement mattered less for the ranking than for what it represented: proof that setbacks do not define one’s journey unless we allow them to.

As he leaves Strathmore, Alex reflects on three years of balancing two academic programmes at two institutions with different cultures and schedules, commuting between campuses, attending evening and Saturday classes, and navigating competing examination timetables.He tells me that on the day he sat the FM paper that would later earn him the top ranking in Kenya, he also had an Economics examination scheduled at UoN at the same time, and thus he had to appeal for a make-up test to be able to make the ACCA paper. He still laughs about arriving on his first day at Strathmore wearing the wrong shoes and being sent home to change. This, he tells me, was the earliest lesson in the University’s culture of professionalism and attention to detail, values that would later shape him beyond the classroom.

Although Strathmore’s reputation for producing outstanding ACCA graduates and its proximity to UoN were what first attracted him, it was the community he found that made the University feel like a second home. Beyond academics, he immersed himself in SU student life. As an avid reader with a love for thriller and fantasy novels, he naturally gravitated towards the Reading and Writing Club, which encouraged students to explore their creative side, especially by writing poetry.

“It taught me that university is about more than academics,” he says. “It gave people a chance to express themselves creatively and connect with others beyond the classroom.” He would also join the Society of Accountants as one of its founding members, where he participated in case competitions, tackled real-world business challenges and built lasting friendships with peers who shared his professional ambitions. Inspired by fellow students from previous years, he joined the CFA Research Challenge as Lead Analyst, helping steer his team to the penultimate stage. The experience challenged him to apply classroom knowledge to real business problems while working alongside equally driven peers.

A key figure also stands out in Alex’s academic journey, Mr Roger Gitonga. He taught him across multiple ACCA levels and became much more than a lecturer. From the very first class, he tells me that Mr Roger challenged them to believe that the sacrifices they were making would one day bear fruit, often reminding them that every late evening, every Saturday class and every difficult paper was part of a much bigger journey.  For Alex, who began pursuing ACCA at just 18 years old, those words became a source of encouragement, particularly during moments of doubt. Mr Roger reportedly took a genuine interest in mentoring his students, sharing lessons from his own ACCA journey, inviting former affiliates to inspire current classes and helping students see possibilities beyond passing examinations. Today, Alex still regards him as one of the most influential people in his ACCA journey, crediting him with shaping not only his academic outlook but also the resilience with which he approaches setbacks and opportunities alike. In fact, he currently serves as one of his referees.

“He didn’t just teach us accounting. He shaped how I approach life, how I deal with failure and how I face challenges,” Alex says. Alex hopes to put his certification to use by consulting for one of the Big Four firms after completing the remaining requirements for ACCA membership, including the ethics module and the requisite three years of practical experience.

Looking back, he says his ACCA journey shaped far more than his academic credentials. Although the rankings brought recognition, it was the setback, the resilience it demanded, and the people he met along the way that transformed him. As he graduates, he leaves with the conviction that success is not about never failing, but about finding the courage to keep going.

Article written by: Maurine Kirambia