22year old Bachelor of Business Information Technology student Idd Juma, has all the reasons to celebrate his undergraduate degree, noting that he will cheerfully graduate with a First Class Honours in the upcoming graduation ceremony.

 

This he believes is one of the best rewards to give God and his parents.

 

Business and Information Technology has always been key interest and his getting a scholarship with Strathmore University was just the beginning of realisation of this dream.

 

Hailing from Khasoko Boys High School in Bungoma County, Idd studied hard to attain a mean grade of A- in his KCSE national examination. After the good grades attained, Idd desired to join a good university that would shape his future in IT. Scheming through university websites, he came across an advert by EABL offering scholarships to Strathmore University. He applied for the scholarship and unfortunately, he was not successful in that application but by God’s grace, Idd got another scholarship offer under the Strathmore merit loan Scheme.

 

By getting the scholarship, Idd struck gold that he did not want to let go that was strictly tied to merit. The more effort he put in his studies, the less the amount he needed to pay back for the loan. For every high percent a student attained, a waiver was put on the loan payment.

 

Although he was excited about this opportunity, Idd attests to the fact that his first year of university came with great challenges. With these challenges, many are the times he found himself struggling to comply with the rules leading to confiscation of his school identity card on several occasions. Through strict guidance and warnings from his mentor and his growing to the realization that the rebellious life was not worth living, Idd came to normalcy and decided to put great seriousness to his studies.

 

Idd developed great interest in finding out every bit of information he did not know, through frequenting the library during his free time. His friends also supported his hard work vision through creating environments that promoted further studies. He also developed strong bonds with his lecturers who helped him understand his subjects better.

 

Besides studying, Idd became an active member in club activities. He joined the Strathmore University IT Students Association (SUITSA) where in his 2^nd year, he was chosen to become the chairman of the club. He served in this position for two terms, a first to be witnessed in the club’s history. Through this position, Idd made sure that members got internships in popular organizations. He himself benefited from these opportunities when he got chances to intern at The IHub and at Kenya Commercial Bank, both occasions he feels, grew his IT capabilities. He was also involved in community outreach programs through Strathmore’s Community Service Centre (CSC).

 

To ease his family from financial burdens and to contribute towards supporting them, Idd worked in the university laboratories in the evening to save money that he used towards providing for his family. Through this, Idd also managed to raise money to support his younger sister through buying her books for school.

 

Idd believes that hard work opens up an array of opportunities.

 

Idd’s role model is a singer by the name of Demi Lovato, whom he says, is a lady who developed the art of having an open mind from when she was young, an act that has seen her grow and get to higher places in life. Idd is motivated by this art and hopes to achieve great success through it.  

 

Idd aspires to get a job in the industry where he can work to gain experience for the next five years as he also tackles attaining a Masters in Information Systems. After this, Idd looks forward to starting his own business possibly in real estate.

 

On attaining good grades and remaining at the top, Idd advices students to concentrate in class, adding that everything that comes in the exam is taught in class. At the same time, students ought to enjoy being involved in extracurricular activities.