Why I Dropped Out of JKUAT

As it happened, I gave up doing business with GNLD and in May 2007, I enrolled at a local university called JKUAT to pursue a degree in electronic & computer engineering. My parents were enormously proud of my enrollment at JKUAT. But guess what! I eventually dropped out of the university in 2009, something I have repeatedly talked about on this blog.
Of late, I have been reflecting on the reasons that compelled me to drop out of JKUAT. And today, I thought it wise to share those reasons on this blog, hoping to enlighten youngsters out there on what they should and shouldn't do at university if they are to finish their degree courses.
The chief reason that led me to drop out of JKUAT was my lack of passion for the engineering course I was pursuing at the university. Prior to joining JKUAT, I had come to believe that true learning should be intellectually and emotionally arousing. But when I joined JKUAT, I found it hard to live by that principle. Just like my classmates, I did a lot of rote learning, such as memorizing a complex formula known as Schrodinger's wave equation, so that I could pass my exams.
There came a day in 2007 when we did not attend classes at JKUAT since it was a public holiday. If my memory serves me well, I felt relieved not to be in class the whole day. That clearly shows how I wasn't passionate about the engineering course I was pursuing, doesn't it?
Well, I did sense there is beauty in the field of electronic & computer engineering - the way electricity and magnetism interact to create the magic we see in computers; the way algebra and calculus are used to analyze electrical circuits - but somehow, that beauty eluded my understanding. How frustrating!
I remember wondering whether the likes of Mwai Kibaki had to understand during their university days the abstruse concepts we were learning at JKUAT. (Mwai Kibaki was the then Kenya's president, who, in my eyes, was the embodiment of success.)
Even though the engineering course turned out to be a tough nut to crack for me, I could have diligently applied myself to understanding it. But the problem was, my attention was split between pursuing the course and applying to four top American colleges. I would spend hours revising for the SAT exams and going to Starehe Boys' Centre, my high school, to get the recommendation letters that the American colleges required.
When I went to Starehe, I would meet with James Rafiq, a dashing former schoolmate who was then working for Starehe as a computer technician or something. Rafiq, on noting how frequently I visited Starehe to get recommendation letters, joked to one secretary in the school that if she ever saw a young man with a desire to study in America, that was most likely me.
Due to my lack of concentration on the engineering course I was pursuing at JKUAT, I flunked a first year unit called Material Science. I was on a long holiday, eagerly waiting to hear from the American colleges I had appleied for admission, when JKUAT authorities informed me I had failed the unit and asked me to retake its exam.
Thinking that I would fly to America, I went to JKUAT and retook the Material Science exam without revising for it. Not surprisingly, I again flunked the unit. What's worse, I was rejected by all the four American colleges I had applied for admission.
I am sure if I had passed all my first year units at JKUAT, I would have felt encouraged to continue pursuing my engineering course when I reported back to the university in May 2008 for my second year. But since JKUAT had a strict policy that no student could proceed to third year without passing all first and second year units, my failure to pass Material Science demoralized me. That was the third reason which led me to drop out of JKUAT in 2009.
Although I didn't finish my engineering course at JKUAT, I treasure the experiences I had at the university and the lasting friendships I formed there. As for what lessons youngsters can learn from my experiences at JKUAT, I will leave it up to them to deduce for themselves from what I have narrated. Adieu!
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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on why I dropped out of JKUAT, you might also enjoy another one on "What Happened When I Repeated Class" which I wrote a few years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.
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