Being a Alumni of Egerton University is the best thing that Happpend to me

Being a student at Egerton University will always be the best thing that ever happened to me. In my four years at Egerton as an Agribusiness student I  learned  a lot of things both in class and outside class that have really changed my life. 

I finished my exams on 8^th May 2011, and Reported to Job on Friday 10^th May 2011 having been employed as Agribusiness Officer at PAnAAC. The three months that have past have been one of the most exciting to me; I have attended conferences and major meetings in Places I could not have imagined I would set foot, not even in my wildest dreams.

The interaction with various industry leaders has made me a better person in life

Mr. Yariv Kader Head of Agronomy at Amiran Kenya, with Isaac in Meru Show.

 

Isaac with Yatta MP. Hon. Charles Kilonzo, inspecting development Projects in Yatta constituency.

The experience I have had after University has been so awesome, I remember during one of our Conferences that we attended with Prof. Kahi and Dr. Gamba at intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi.  I could not believe that two months out of college I would be sitting in the same table with my lecturers not as a student but as a professional colleague doing his part in Building the Nation. I have matured a lot by constantly interacting with my Lecturers and always getting back to them even in the middle of the night.

Isaac with Mr. Vimal Shah, CEO of Bidco at serena hotel.

My Achievements after University

Being the Agribusiness Officer at PAnAAC, I was in charge of student internship programme and in May 2011, we offered internships to 20 Egerton University Students. Their Programme was innovative in that we sent them to the field to assist the small scale farmers, and they  were being mentored by Professionals in the private sector , the students came out as real experts in the field with some writing business plans of their own and others helping farmers start up projects e.g. Fish pond in Eastern Kenya.

In June 2011, I was selected to Participate in a Conference call with the white house  house to Discuss about the first ladies trip to Africa. It was a big experience for me and I gained a lot of international Contacts after the call which has served to further my exposure in life.

In August I was among the four people selected to represent Africa at the annual Wikimania Conference in Haifa, Israel and I met with over 700 people from 56 countries in the world. . I Got the chance to meet with the Founder of Wikimedia Mr.Jimmy wales.

Isaac with Jimmy Wales Founder of Wikipedia- in Haifa, Israel

I have also been invited to Harvard University as a Panelist during the Millennium CampusConference , which will take place from 16^th – 18^th September, 2011. I will be discussing the Topic, Climate Change and Hunger and will get to meet over 1000 Student leaders and industry

The exposure I got by attending Agribusiness Trade fair at Hilton Hotel in November 2010 was the turning point in my life. I listened to a speech from Dr. Manu Chandaria and Mrs. Lucy Muchoki CEO of PanAAC which ignited a fire in me, I got so inspired and I felt I should emulate them. With the support of My Lecturers I started networking with professionals from all parts of the world and that’s when I started doing networking and connecting with organization like  Wikimedia Foundation ( Distributing offline version of Wikipedia in High schools), Google (Mapping agribusiness institutions in Kenya using goggle Maps) and Mozilla

Isaac with Mrs. Lucy Muchoki-Ceo PanAAC attending a Talk at Egerton Uni.

I also met connections  with friends in the US and who trained me on aspects that have proved to be my strengths so far- Professional  use of social networks, how to reply  professional emails.
I was also sponsored  for a three month mentorship programme at iHub Kenya and it has been a big plus to me.

The Secret behind my achievements so far is “My Lecturers and professional Mentors”. After coming back from the Hilton Conference, I used to visit their offices all the times when I was free just to receive advice and Professional guidance. I went even to offices of Lecturers who never taught me in class and they became my best friends always showing the Path to success.

Whenever I am faced with a difficult decision in my work place, I always refer to my Lecturers and my Professional Mentors for direction and Guidance.

To the students, , I want to say that beyond class work you need your  Lecturers and Professional  mentors- People like Mrs. Lucy muchoki, Vimal Shah and Dr. Manu Chandaria, more than anything else to succeed, forget finding one lecturer or professional for a role model. Instead look for different people for specific qualities and skills you want to emulate, never start with a person; start with the talent or trait.

All the best to all those Who are still pursuing their studies.

HOW I MADE IT TO ISRAEL

My recent trip to Israel was truly a trip of a lifetime. Many of my friends have kept asking me how I got the chance to travel to Israel and to be honest; I really don’t have the answer to that myself. I guess it’s a miracle, part of the marvelous opportunities that Wikimedia Foundation has to offer.
It all started a year ago when I was browsing through the Wikipedia website and I saw a photo of Jimmy Wales by then I did not know was the founder. When I clicked on the Photo it directed me to a link about Donations . I must admit I was surprised by this because to me I thought Wikipedia like many other dominant internet giants must be making millions of profits from its activities, I decided to do a research about it and it opened up a world that I never knew existed.
I learned of the followings things
1. That Wikipedia was founded 10 years ago and is one of the Several Projects of the Wikimedia Foundation, others being commons , wiktionary ,meta, wiki species……you can find others by yourself
2. That Wikipedia is not for profit making and is supported by donors.
3. That anybody Can edit contribute to Wikipedia through editing,wikiprojects and spreading the word
4. That there are Wikimedia chapters in many countries in the world and Kenya are in the final stages of forming a chapter.
5. That there is an annual international conference of the Wikimedia community called Wikimania and is organized by a local Chapter.
From the moment I learned this information, my life was never been the same again, I wanted to be part of the team that is transforming lives in a positive way and I  started by visiting the site of Kenyan Chapter and I was instantly rewarded with an invite to attend the 10th Anniversary at Strathmore University which was attended by the Chairman of the Wikimedia Board of Trustees Mr. Ting Chen. It was a surprise to me because within 30 minutes of visiting their site I received a phone call from Abbas, the Team Leader of Wikimedia Kenya inviting me to the anniversary celebrations and also giving me a chance to come along with my friends.
On the day of the anniversary I learned quite a number of things from Mr. Ting Chen’s Speech, most notable being that you can come up with idea and Wikimedia can make it a reality.
Having worked on youth empowerment projects for the past couple of years I saw this as another big opportunity for me and without giving it a second thought I Joined Wikimedia Kenya. We met and held several meetings in February 2011 with chapter members and they had a project that they had planned to do Wikipedia for Schools Project which is installing the offline version of Wikipedia in Kenya High schools. This was so interesting to me and although they had planned to do the pilot in three regions, my friends and I (From Egerton University) went ahead and installed the version in the schools in Rift Valley Province even before the Pilot started.
It was during this time that I came up with the idea of Wikipedia chapters in Universities. I posted it on the Wikimania 2011 submissions page and I did not expect people to notice it because I was new to Wikimedia and had not even started editing.
A Days weeks after I posted my submission, I received an email from Haifa indicating that they had seen my submission and will get back to me, I was so excited that for once I will get a chance to be in a place I have so longed for-Jerusalem. I really wanted to know if what we have been reading in the bible actually exists. Jessie wild from the Foundation also saw my Submission and she really guided and inspired me to make my project a reality in Kenya, I felt so inspired that I had the support of someone from the foundation and I mobilized students from Egerton university to start up the Pilot chapter. Miracle
At around mid May I got a heart break, my submission was OK but unfortunately I had not been editing Wikipedia for long and so I did not qualify for a scholarship. I was so sad but I never gave up on the dream of going to Israel and I kept believing that somehow a miracle will happen and I will find myself in Israel. Indeed a miracle happened because I woke up one morning to find an Email from people I had not met or heard of before, The message was as follows.

Hi Isaac, how much will it cost to get you to Wikimania and back?

Wikimedia UK are willing to cover the costs of your flight, train and room in Haifa. Receipts will be required. I estimate the total cost would be 1,600 dollars. I must warn you that we may not able to return the money to you quickly. If it is very important then we may be able to arrange an advance of funds (but this would take time also).

I hope that is not too complex and will allow you to present your paper in Haifa.

Please confirm your acceptance.

I was so excited because just two days before that I had received a flight ticket to attend millennium Campus Conference at Harvard University. I had to hurriedly apply for my Passport and Visa because I had less than 30 days before my travel to Israel
In Summary, I must say a Big thank you to Wikimedia UK for sponsoring my travel to attend the Conference. It was the most awesome week of my life and I have learned a lot and made friends from all over the world.
To the African Youth, I wanna say that Wikimedia foundation offers you exciting opportunities that you never imagined before. You will get the chance to meet people you never imagined you could meet, learn things you never knew before and also get a chance to make your ideas a reality.


In my next post I will be sharing with you about my experiences from Israel.
.