Since I was young, studying abroad has been my dream. From growing up in Mathare, one of Nairobi’s infamous informal settlements, to walking the streets of the small town called a museum town where everything in it has a historical value compared to England, each step is a testament that dreams if pursued, can come true.
I feel privileged to have been accepted into Scotland’s first university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. I’m grateful to God for granting me a full scholarship to attend an institution ranked higher than Oxford and Cambridge.
Coming to St Andrew’s has met all my expectations. As the home of golf, it’s common to interact with influential people, including many who send their students here. I had the chance to train and play with the school’s first and second teams of the four rugby teams.
Since I arrived, I’ve played one game and scored around six points, and our team won. I always look forward to lectures and sharing experiences. As the only African in my class, I’m happy nobody judges me, and I have an equal opportunity to prove my worth. The university’s degree pathway is unique. You can take open modules in your first and second years and focus on your study area in the third and fourth years, meaning you might come here as a medical student and become a chaplain.
The classes are beautiful, and many tutors here are authors of most books used worldwide, so we get firsthand knowledge. They are lovely and dependable, similar to the ones I had at the Academy. There’s lots of fish and chips here, which reminds me of my home county, Siaya. I was allowed to intern at the admissions office as an assistant to the head of Africa admissions a month after I arrived at the university, which opened up opportunities to socialise and get a feel of the place.
I’m grateful to God for getting into the MPESA Foundation Academy, and I’m living up to the standards of a student from the Academy. More than that, I’m grateful to God even as I look forward to the future over the next five years of my studies here.
Kerry Otieno – MFA Alumni
