Renee Ngamau is a sultry voiced, straight-speaking radio presenter at Capital FM.
Which university/college did you attend?
University of Nairobi, Parklands campus and University of London, Queen Mary College.
What did you major in?
I have a Bachelor of Laws from University of Nairobi and Master of Laws in Banking and Financial Law from University of London.
Your worst class was…
Social ethics in high school. The teacher did not allow free thinking, exploration and an understanding of other cultures and religions, instead they spent the time proselytizing.
What was your best campus experience? Free critical thinking. I enjoyed the units where the lecturers pushed us to think and to defend our thinking, rather than giving us notes to cram and regurgitate.
Most embarrassing campus experience…
Being asked to go home because of a campus strike that I did not even know was happening. I spent almost 40 minutes arguing with a GSU officer on why I should not go home.
How were your dating experiences in college?
I had a boyfriend almost right through campus, so I didn’t date a lot.
Worst lecturer…
The lecturer who came in and started dictating notes from the door and did not allow any questions or feedback. Another one who used a 1967 book to teach law even though most of its information was outdated.
Which hangout joints did you go to after classes?
I didn’t hang out much. I was running a business. But I had lunch often at city market.
What do you know now that you didn’t know then?
First; who you are as a person, your values and principles are way more important than your grades. Secondly; define ‘how much is enough’. Define “Enough”. How much money, power, success etc is enough for you? When you know how much is enough then you will free will yourself from a rat race amassing for the sake of amassing.
When you get more than what you have defined as ‘enough’, then you know that everything else coming to you is so that you can serve others, not to aggrandize yourself. This came from a lecturer who told us to get a blank paper and write ‘how much is enough’. That was one of the best classes. To date, he is one of the lecturers and men that I admire the most.
If you could go back to college, what would you do differently?
Go to a different university for my undergraduate. I loved UoN, especially Parklands campus. It was a great experience, but it had downsides. We had one year of lecturers being on strike and they were so demotivated that the quality of delivery when they returned, was wanting.
Though the quality of the lecturers was fantastic, the interrupted learning affected their energy, commitment and in some cases, delivery. Riots in main campus interrupted our learning, and that had an effect on quality and continuity.
