Top Strathmore Law School student Lavinia Karambu Anampio, graduating with first class honours in this year’s graduation ceremony is elated by the fact that she will receive the Deans Award for best student in her year.

The humble lady, 2^nd born child of 4 children, is no stranger to being at the top. Before starting her law degree, Lavinia finished as one of the top students in the Diploma in Business Information Technology course (DBIT), positioning her at a good spot to receive the Strathmore Law scholarship. Lavinia was also among the top students in Kianda School where she attained a mean grade of A in her KCSE national examination.

Lavinia attests her top positions to hard work, emphasizing on the fact that maintaining this position is never easy.  

Are you usually a top student?

Yes I am but it is hard work. In law school especially, it was very competitive. It felt like we were competing for the top position, because position one would switch between some of my classmates and myself.

I don’t think I consider my family as a family of bright people, but I know we all strive to do our best at all times.

Why Law?

I wanted to study law since I was in form one. I had a passion for it. I don’t have a solid reason why Law specifically but I just loved it. I have come to realize that studying the course is a bonus because it gives you many options career wise. I am not restricted to a law firm. You can work in corporate, for tax offices etc.

How did you end up studying DBIT though?

After highschool, I knew I was going for regular program at the public university I was called, but there was that one year break as we wait to join university which I didn’t want to experience it being idle. So I decided to study and my options were limited. I knew Mathematics was not an option for me, therefore CPAs and ACCAs would not cut, the only choice I was left with was DBIT. So I chose DBIT. It was an interesting but also difficult course, mostly because of the coding. The last project was stressful but by God’s grace I managed to finish and stay at the top.

What pushed you to work hard to maintain the top position?

I always give my best in everything, from primary life to highschool life, to my diploma period and now my university life.

 

In addition, I got a scholarship for 60% which motivated me to keep working hard.

How was your Strathmore experience?

My Strathmore journey was very challenging, I must say. We would study 9 units in a semester. It was a lot of pressure. However, the experience was amazing. The Eurotrip was amazing, our visiting lecturers were great; lecturers like the prosecutor for ICTY – Dr. Serge Brammertz. The seminars we attended were also very knowledgeable.

 

In addition to that, the research centres in the law school were an added advantage to my learning, because they opened our minds to practical situations that enhanced our knowledge.

What Activities were you involved with while studying?

I worked for the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology (CIPIT) for about 9 months on a book that they are working on publishing, on intellectual property. I am not keen on doing IP as a specialization but this centre opened my eyes to the IP world.

 

I was a member of the Kenya Model United Nations (KMUN) for about 3 years. I was the Deputy Finance Director of KMUN last year. We did a lot of mock debates and attended conferences that opened our minds to different trending topics, giving us an opportunity to learn a lot of what happens around the world.

 

I was also a member for the Strathmore Litigation centre, a club in the Strathmore Law School that carries out research on different NGOs tacking different topics e.g. gender and the Law, women rights, childrens law etc.

On a less serious matter I was part of the football team for the law school. I was the only girl who played in one of the teams.

How did you balance academics with these activities?

I learnt the art of balancing through organizing my time well. When I was at CIPIT I would stay on after class for an hour or two to research. On Fridays I would play football to release stress. On the weekends I would work on my assignments.

Do you have role models?

This may sound cliché but my mother is my role model. She works hard to give us the best and I admire that.

I also admire Hon. Amb. Amina Mohamed who is an inspiring leader. She beat many odds to reach where she did.

What are you currently doing?

I am interning at Maonga Ndonye Associates, a Certified Public Secretarial (CPS) firm. Firms outsource CS work to us, so we do their compliance work. I help with preparing documents for the firm and organizing the minutes etc.  My interest is in company law, therefore this is a good learning ground for me.

What plans do you have for your next 5-10 years?

Hopefully I will start Kenya School of Law classes next year and then do my 6 months pupilage.

After that, I hope to get into corporate law working in a law firm, before working for a company for the future.

What do you do in your spare time?

I love attending plays, musicals and watching movies. I don’t have the artistic talent but I love watching them.

 

Congratulations on your great achievement!