Here we go again, the top brains in our country in terms of KCSE, where they went to and where they are now. Thank you for all your comments, tweet mentions, Facebook comments and e-mails regarding Part 1. I emailed KNEC to confirm the list of the top performers but they have not replied yet. Be inspired.
KIRIMANIA MURIITHI (1994) - ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
He was top in KCPE in Laikipia district in 1990 which gave him entry to join the ‘elite’ Alliance High School. MIT calls Alliance Elite. That’s cool. He was the first among his family of cow herders to attend school hence the first one to wear shoes. He traveled 15 miles from his village to his school daily to quench his education thirst. Muriithi emerged top of KCSE in 1994 or as he said, “No one ever got the marks I did". He received the news that he was top while herding cows with his father in Ntrukuma village. He later got a full scholarship from Massachusets Institue of Technology to study Electrical Engineering where he also got his masters. He worked under Bill Gates at Microsoft before being appointed as Senior Software Engineer at Mercury Computer Systems. He was promoted to Senior Firmware Engineer in the same company, a position he currently holds. You can read his amazing story here.
You can also check on Segeni Ngethe who got his masters from Stanford university and co-founder of Mamamikes.com, an e-commerce site for Kenyans in the diaspora. He is a founder of many media and commerce orginisations according to his linked-in account. Owns a media that broadcasts in Nairobi Matatus. Also have look on Lawrence Riungu who has had the privilege to work in several high profile financial companies including Wallstreet and is currently an Investment officer at Centum Investment Company, the largest quoted investment company in East Africa. Nicholas Olweny joined Yale as an undergraduate to study electrical engineering and he came out with a PhD.MARTIN MBAYA (1995) - ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
After topping KCSE, he joined Strathmore College at that time for a diploma before being admitted to MIT to study Mechanical Engineering and concentrated on Japanese language. He later went to Havard where he graduated with a doctorate in international trade and finance. He worked as an application developer at Tenfold, a consultant at EKI Consulting, as a Director/administrator of Executive programs at Strathmore Business School and as a Global Financial Analyst / Treasury Management Fellow in Havard University. He is currently the director at Nairobil Capital Inc where he is also the co-founder. You can access his website here although it seems to have expired currently and is pending renewal but he has a well organized linked-in account. You can also take a look on Micheal Rono who was the Basketball Captain and House Captain in his year at AHS.
JAMES MWANGI (1995) - ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
Another one is James Mwangi who was deputy captain to Micheal Rono. He graduated with a degree in Economics from Harvard University and is working with McKinsey and Co. a leading management consultancy in New York.He was the President of the African students Association in the US while in university. James Mwangi was also top in KCSE.
NATHANIEL CHOGE (1996) - ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
He went on to join MIT for a bachelor of science in electrical engineering and computer science and also minored in economics and writing. He later joined Columbia School of business in New York for an MBA. He has held high profile jobs in the financial sector for big companies. He worked as an investment analyst at Zan Partners and at
Orbis Mutual Fund, as a Summer Associate in Richcourt Group and as an African Stock Analyst at Emerging Market Management LLC. He is currently an analyst at SQM Frontier Management.
Jasper Kuria, a former Alliance high school student, joined Yale University on a full scholarship to study computer science. He is the currently an entrepreneur at Wainsoftllc Washington. You can check his facebook account here.
PAUL K NJOROGE (1996) - STAREHE BOYS CENTRE
He matriculated to MIT to study Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. In 2002 he won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study in Oxford University to study economics and Development. He was the founder of the MIT African Internet Technology Initiative (MIT-AITI), a project to teach web-programming courses in Kenya. Njoroge won the William L. Stewart Award for his contribution to extracurricular activities and events at MIT in 2001. You can read his story here. He worked at Morgan Stanley Investment Bank and is currently working at British Armed Forces. This is his facebook account.
MWASHUMA NYATTA (1997) - ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
He proceeded to Havard on a Full Scholarship to study economics. In 2004 he won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study in Oxford University. Check it here. He is a banker at Mckinsey and Company Inc. He is also a music composer according to this blog . He was named top songwriter in Billboard’’s International Song Contest and has collaborated with Dave Tozer. He has released an album called Shusic that combines gospel, soul, and a mean guitar. He has done an interview with KTNKenya posted here. You can read more about him in this Mashada forum from the Daily Nation.
Atleast some of them return home to establish big companies like the Nairobi Capital Inc.
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