I was born in Nyeri County, the third born in a family of 9 siblings. Our mother raised us all on her own. I attended Mbereria Primary school, but I dropped out when I was in class two. I was not the first sibling to do as our mother could not afford to pay our school fees.

Understanding early on that life is comes with difficulties, we learned to fend for ourselves by taking on manual jobs for small pay. I returned to school in 2003 when free primary school was launched. Due to my age, I joined class four. It was difficult however because I couldn’t remember how to write my name, let alone keep up with the other classes.

I went through my primary school supporting myself by working as a casual labourer in people’s farms and managing a small stand at the local market where I would sell some items after school. Through hard work and determination, I have managed to perform well throughout my education career. I scored 370 marks in KCPE exams, which led to me attending Chinga Girls High.

I joined the school in 2008 through the support of the Co-operative Bank Foundation. I performed well in the KCSE examinations and got an A- of seventy-eight (78) points. As I was among the top four students in the Central Region, I secured further financial support to progress into Kenyatta University.

I studied Economics and Statistics and graduated with a first-class honour’s degree in 2016. I didn’t stop there as I decided to pursue a master’s degree after. Nobody in my village ever thought I would manage to join high school, let alone do a master’s degree. In my family I am the first to attend university.

I am considered a role model and I like to go back to mentor others in my village. I have been able to support my mother and pay school feed for my younger siblings. I am proud of myself and my academic achievements because it all seemed impossible at one point in my life.