About Me - Thuita J. Maina

About 200 metres from Starehe Boys' Centre in Nairobi is Pumwani Maternity where on the last day of 1987, a handsome, bouncing baby boy was born: I! My mother then headed back to Kiserian, a one-hour drive from Nairobi, where my father had acquired a piece of land the previous year (1986) and built a house on it. And that has been my home all my life.

I have very little recollection of my first three years of life, as it is with every person. The little I remember is my mother carrying me on her back as she walked her friends on our farm.

My awakening to life began in late 1992 when I vaguely recall feasting on a meal in our small, sooty kitchen while hearing political campaigns going on in our home area. Back then, my home had no electricity or television. Just a battery-powered radio.

In January 1993, I joined Naru-Moru Primary School, a 2-kilometre walk from home. I remained in the school until the third term of Standard Seven in 2000 when my parents transferred me to Kunoni Educational Centre, a private primary school for affluent families, where I finished off my primary school education.

At Kunoni, I performed so well in 2001 KCPE exams that I was admitted to the prestigious Starehe Boys' Centre for my high school education. If you remember, Starehe is about 200 metres from Pumwani Maternity where I was born.

Getting admitted to Starehe was one of those lucky breaks that completely altered the course of my life. It was at Starehe where I perfected my innate nature of aiming high. I kept on striving to excel in academics and managed to rise from the bottom of my class to score an 'A' in the mighty KCSE exams.

Before joining university, I pursued a diploma in information technology at Starehe Institute where I became fascinated with how computers work. That fascination made me choose to pursue a degree in electronic & computer engineering at a local university called JKUAT.

But studying in an elite American college appealed to me more. So when I was in Starehe Institute, I applied to MIT, Cornell, Dartmouth and Stanford, only for them to reject me. I therefore had no option but to report to JKUAT in May 2007.

During my first year at JKUAT, I spent my time attending classes and on the weekends, I commuted to Nairobi where I sang and played the organ at All Saints' Cathedral. I loved being part of the cathedral's 9:30 a.m. English service choir because of the spiritually enriching hymns we sang and the buddy-buddy monthly fellowships we had.

And you know what? I didn't intend to finish my undergraduate studies at JKUAT, for I couldn't dismiss from my mind the desire to study in America. So while I was still a first-year student at JKUAT, I applied to four top colleges: MIT, Yale, Harvard and Stanford. They rejected me.

Following the rejections, I reported back to JKUAT in May 2008 for my second year. For some reasons I will not explain now, I dropped out of JKUAT that year. Then I resumed my studies in 2009 and again dropped out, this time for good.

Still unable to dismiss my desire to study in America, I reapplied to three top American colleges. The only college I didn't reapply to was MIT after someone there told me they don't encourage applicants to apply for the third time. Come April 2010, the three colleges rejected me again.

Under pressure to acquire a degree, I matriculated at the University of Nairobi in September 2010 to pursue a degree in political science, history, economics & public administration. I liked my new course because it allowed me to express myself more freely than did engineering. But I eventually dropped out of the university due to financial constraints.

Ever the ambitious young man, I ran for a county representative seat (now known as MCA seat) in the 2013 Kenya's general elections. Even though my campaigns were a total flop, I learnt some valuable lessons.

These days, I cocoon in Kiserian while engaging in my passions (jogging, walking, reading, writing, singing, socializing, networking and piano-playing) with the faith that God will open for me doors that will usher me to the life of my dreams.