Why I Dropped Out of JKUAT

Back in 2006 when I was still wet behind the ears, I joined a network marketing company called GNLD. I somewhat enjoyed being part of the company where I picked up a passion for reading motivational books. But while I strived to sell the expensive GNLD products and recruit friends into the company, my parents were worried I could get carried away by GNLD and forfeit my university education.

As it happened, I gave up doing business with GNLD and in May 2007, I enrolled at JKUAT to pursue a degree in electronic & computer engineering, something that my parents were enormously proud of. They probably thought I was destined for success. But guess what! I dropped out of JKUAT in 2009.

Recently, 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 on what they should and shouldn't do at university if they wish 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, 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, but only dimly, wondering whether the likes of Mwai Kibaki had to understand in their university days the difficult concepts we were learning at JKUAT. (Kibaki was the then Kenya's president, who, in my eyes, must have been the embodiment of success.)

Even though the engineering course turned out to be a tough nut for me to crack, I could have diligently applied myself to understanding it. But the problem was, my attention was split between studying for the course and applying to four top American colleges. I spent hours revising for the SAT exams and going to Starehe Boys' Centre, my high school, to get recommendation letters that the colleges required.

While at Starehe, I would meet with James Rafiq, a dashing former schoolmate who was then working at the school 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 craving to study in America, that was most likely me.

Not concentrating on my engineering course at JKUAT made me flunk a second-semester unit called Material Science. I was on long holidays, eagerly waiting to hear from the American colleges I had applied for admission, when JKUAT authorities informed me that 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. So I flunked the unit again. But what depressed me was not being accepted by any of 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 policy that no student could proceed to third year without passing all first- and second-year units, failing 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 cherish the experiences I had at the university and the lasting friendships I formed there. As to what lessons youngsters can learn from the reasons that made me drop out of JKUAT, I will leave it to them to figure out from what I have narrated. Adieu!

******************************
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.