For most, campus life easily goes down as one of their most memorable years. It is an exciting time! It is a great opportunity to explore, discover and redefine who you are both inside and outside the classroom. It exposes people to new experiences and might even be the place they discover new interests, passions and generally find that which makes them “feel alive”.

That said, have you taken time to notice just how incredibly multifaceted Stratizens are? They have transcended academics and continue excelling at pretty much everything. Even the seemingly “hard” stuff that might have you scratching your head for hours. Their secret? They’ve learned to derive happiness from what they’re passionate about.

For one Andrew Muiyuro, a #Classof2020 Bachelor of Business Science: Financial Economics graduate, his campus life felt like a script for one of those coming-of-age movies. “Enlightening… simply enlightening! I achieved it all here!” he says with a gleeful smile.

He learnt about the course he took from a neighbor who’d graduated from the pioneer class of Financial Economics at Strathmore. That, his love for mathematics and the fact that he wanted to pursue, in his words, a “practical” course, meant Strathmore was his only choice.

Guitar chords and good vibrations

It’s little known that Einstein was an accomplished violinist, and even less known that had he not pursued science, he said he would have been a musician: I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. He confessed to thinking about science in terms of images and intuitions, often drawn directly from his experiences as a musician, only later converting these into logic, words and mathematics.

“He’s inspired me in more ways than I can imagine. You see, I love numbers and I also love making music. Did you know there are mathematical formulas for music? I have even learnt a new formula that determines the number of beats per minute that should go into a song. I think the science around the link between music and productivity is not talked about enough. Music gets those creative juices flowing and for someone like me who’s into numbers, it feels surreal, magical!

I’ve been a guitarist for as long as I can remember and I just recently got into music production and video editing. At Strathmore, I loved playing for my friends and we’ve had quite epic evenings at the Kilimanjaro rooftop. It was one of our best “chill spots”. It is from these good vibrations that we conceived the idea of starting the “Wana raha Band”. “

Of serenades and spreading some love

Over the years, humans have perfected ways of expressing affection and admiration for each other. From the classics of a man singing below a woman’s window at night to cruise ship band symphonies. At Strathmore, Valentines is not your ordinary gifting season. Engraved in the students’ culture is a pomp activity that leaves many hoping their name is with a band or flower vendors. Andrew recalls a most interesting memory in 2018 as his band went to serenade a girl in class.

“I can’t recall her name. It seemed she’d caught the eyes of many admirers and the requests to go serenade her, were so many, about 10. I’d never witnessed that many requests. Of course it was good business for us and we ended up combining all and making it a long performance. It was quite hilarious, even to the lecturer.”

I am currently working in a financial firm in Nairobi and also back in class, currently self-studying the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). I want to be a proper Financial Analyst and this certification will give the grounding I need. My goal is to get a charter by 2025.

 

This article was written by Francis Kabutu.   

 

What’s your story? We’d like to hear it. Contact us via communications@strathmore.edu