KCSE Champs reveal success secrets, future dreams

Kiarie Kamau, former student of Mary Mother of Grace School in Laikipia County is carried shoulder high by relatives as they celebrated his success. He scored an A becoming the Laikipia county champion. His school was also ranked the best in the county after attaining a mean grade of 10.7.He wants to be an electrical engineer. PHOTO: JAMES MUNYEKI

NAIROBI: Top performers from last year’s KCSE examinations across the country yesterday spoke of their dreams, aspirations, challenges and the motivations that enabled them beat the rest.

The champions also gave pointers for success to those yet to sit the national exam. As expected, top among the list of career choices for them are medicine, engineering, actuarial science, geo-informatics and law.

Speaking from schools across the country, the champions thanked their teachers, parents, fellow students and God for their stellar performances.

In an academic year that was marked with many challenges such as the teacher’s strike and unparalleled cheating, they beat the odds to emerge victorious.

Seventeen-year-old Faridah Ashika Kaburu from Mung’anga in Kakamega County could not believe it when she received a text message on her father’s phone saying she had garnered an impressive 83 points.

Her performance was not unexpected. Five years ago, she managed an equally impressive 404 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations.

“Self-motivation is the key to success. When in school or at home, I did extra research on my own instead of just sitting and waiting for the examinations. Consultation with teachers and colleagues is also very essential,” said Faridah, an alumnus of St Francis Rang’ala Girls in Siaya.

From Nakuru, Edwin Mwiberi from Utumishi Academy in Gilgil was full of tears of joy after receiving his results. He scored an A of 84 points.

Mwiberi, 18, is passionate about education. He could skip meals just to do extra revision immediately after lessons and read ahead of the syllabus. He wants to be a civil engineer, a career he hopes to pursue at the University of Nairobi.

“I hope to get a place at the University of Nairobi,” he said.

Felix Oduor scored a straight A of 83 points to emerge the second best candidate in St Patricks High School-Iten.

“This is the happiest moment in my life and my dream to study medicine and surgery at the university will soon be fulfilled,” he said.

A jubilant Oduor, who was studying on a scholarship programme, said he expected good results because he managed his time well, consulted with teachers and remained faithful to God.

WINNING STRATEGY

Valeri Mukolwe of St Francis Rang’ala Girls scored an A with a mean score of 84 points to emerge Nyanza’s top girl. Valerie, who wants to be a dental surgeon, said she expected the good results.

“I was not surprised with my performance because I have always been a hardworking girl. I thank my teachers for introducing a ‘reminder’ strategy where we were each expected to do a single topic of a subject per day,” she said.

Ahlam Abdulaziz emerged among the best students from the coast in last year’s KCSE exams, getting an A of 84 points. Ahlam, a native of Mombasa’s Old Town, celebrated her sterling performance with her closest friends who also scored As.

‘’God heard our prayers. We worked hard and here we are today sharing a common meal,’’ Ahlam told The Standard on Saturday when we caught up with her at Caribou Restaurant in Nyali. Like some of her peers, she too wants to study medicine. She owed her performance to the support around her.

‘’I am highly indebted to my family for the massive support they accorded me during my time in school,’’ Ahlam said.

Warda Noor from Majengo in Nyeri scored A- (minus) of 75 points to emerge among the top students in the county. Warda almost dropped out of school at some point for lack of fees before Equity Bank’s “Wings to Fly” sponsorship programme came to her aid.

In 2011, she scored 391 marks out of 500 in her KCSE examination at Nyamachaki Primary School, a public school in Nyeri town. She then joined Nakuru Girls High School.

“My father is a casual labourer while my mum is a housewife. They could not afford my admission to the school and we were forced to apply for sponsorship from the bank’s programme,” she said.

Warda says she would occasionally send part of her pocket money to her parents to buy food. She wants to study either medicine or engineering at the university.