November 29, 2010
A Bold Career Choice
by Njambi, Com 349X
A young woman in her early twenties with toffee-coloured skin takes a seat outside in the veranda at the Allen Grove campus of Daystar University, Nairobi. Situated above the veranda are the lecture rooms where, in less than half an hour, lectures are about to begin. Students stroll past, chatting, some oblivious, others take a glancing at their college mate with sunglasses resting high on her neat African braids, as they walk past to class.
Dressed in a black and white motif printed top accentuated by a black and white scarf, Wanjiku looks very much like the other students in the campus, but she has a different story. Her path to choosing a Communications degree evolved through several stages.
Wanjiku was born and bred in the capital city of Kenya. She attended high school on the outskirts of Nairobi and from an early age, she determined to purse a Bachelor of Commerce degree with the hope of becoming a banker. She deeply admired banking and all the trappings that came with the profession. To date, her father and aunt who were both bankers, continue to serve as her role models. Wanjiru’s big eyes light up as she recounts how on one Saturday morning while playing with her sister, her father stepped out of the house and took the girls out for a ride. The threesome set off to the central business district of Nairobi to the bank where her father worked. “The office was large, impressive, and comfortable and the carpet made it look very professional, there was no one in the office so we played whiles my father worked,” said Wanjiku, smiling as she looks back with nostalgia. “Another thing I liked about banking was the confidence and success that it gave my aunt” she adds, and concludes, “When you work in a bank, you will be successful.”
With this in mind, the first born of five siblings took the lead, and determined that the path she would follow is a Bachelor of Commerce degree, which would eventually lead her to the bank.
“It is rare that a student straight out of high school would be so focused.” states Ada a parent with three children one of whom has just completed her secondary education. On enquiring what her daughter wants to pursue, she goes on to say lightly “She has no clue, at this age there is so much happening, I will just let her stay at home for a while until she makes up her mind.” However, she is quick to add that it is important that a student is sure of which career path to follow as tertiary education in Kenya is quite expensive. It is therefore imperative that the correct choices are made before embarking on a course. For her daughter, Ada intends to walk her through the process until a concrete solution is forged.
In Wanjiku’s case, she did not require much intervention as she had made up her mind on what she wanted to do. After completing her secondary education, the local university could only offer a diploma in Commerce. Undeterred and determined to take her first choice, Wanjiku chose to apply for a degree course at Daystar University.
To join the degree course in Bachelors of Commerce, a bridging course was required. “I was not willing to take the course,” adds Wanjiku in a soft voice, “so an uncle told me that I could join as a communications student and later change to commerce”. Unwilling to take the bridging course, Wanjiku enrolled for the Communications degree course. True to her uncle’s word, all first year students at Daystar attend the same general subject before specializing in their various fields.
The university has taken into account that indeed there may be a few students not completely certain of what they may want to pursue and therefore given leeway for students who may change their mind. Pegging on this hope, Wanjiku walked into the institution determined to graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and pursue her dream job.
Much has changed since then.
“I enjoyed culture, like in the INS class, we would go and visit other cultures, like the time we went to visit a Nigerian, who is a lecturer at Daystar. We went to her place and we cooked with her, ate fufu and learned the way they do things,” describes Wanjiku in melodious voice, smiling as she remembers the fun events involved in the course work.
By the second year, Wanjiku was convinced that she would continue with her communication courses as they resonated well with her. However, this was not final until the day she was to hand in a written letter stating her intention to change to a Bachelor of Commerce degree. It is at this point she made a firm decision to pursue a communications degree majoring in Public Relations.
For Wanjiku, this is a wise choice, as Daystar university is highly recognized for its communication training, with students enrolling for the course from not only within the country and also from the east African region and beyond.
“PR is marketable and I have relatives and friends who have told me so. Besides,” she adds, “the Bachelor of Commerce field is flooded with more students choosing it over any other course”. Ida a former law student at Catholic University concurs with the fact that, since many high school leavers have no clue about their future career, Bachelor of Commerce is the most frequently selected course.
Wanjiku has not left the commerce field entirely, as she has chosen to take up Marketing as a minor. At Daystar University, there is possibility of taking one’s undergraduate studies with two majors or one major and a minor in a different discipline. For example, in Wanjiku’s case she has opted to take a major in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing, this is because she believes that they are interrelated and with the two, one stands a better chance of clinching a job.
“I have done some research and found out that most organizations have a PR department and I can still work in a bank and still do PR,” Wanjiku concludes.
