My First Major Setback

A True Story

by Thuita J. Maina

on Jul 12, 2018

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When I was an IT student at Starehe Institute in 2006, I heard about American colleges that meet full financial need of admitted students. I mentioned that to my father, and he encouraged me to apply.

I applied to four, and MIT was my first choice because it was, and still is, renowned for its excellence in science, technology, engineering and math—the fields that interested me in those days.

Besides taking the SAT exams and submitting the application materials that MIT required, I sent a cassette recording of some hymns I had played and a CD with an educational website I had created with two Starehe Institute classmates.

As I waited to hear from MIT, I had a good time because I looked forward to attending the prestigious college, and also because I enjoyed learning web design and computer programming at Starehe Institute.

But then came the night in March 2007 when MIT released its admissions decisions online. I went to check mine in a computer lab at Starehe Institute. My heart was definitely pounding like a tom-tom as I signed into my MIT account.

Yikes! I became sick with disappointment when I learnt I had been rejected. And even though Marilee Jones, the then MIT Dean of Admissions, assured me I was a terrific student, her letter depressed me like never before.

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Also check out "The Rejection That Became a Treasure".

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Chasing the Light

A True Story

by Thuita J. Maina

on Jul 10, 2018

Bill Clinton, one of the lights of my life, inspired me to run for a seat in the 2013 general elections. As it turned out, I failed to radiate the kind of charisma he had when he ran for congress at my age in 1974.

I later realized that was because I hadn't hit Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule of mastery like Clinton had. You see, Bill Clinton became interested in politics at a young age.

During his high school years, he visited the White House, where he shook hands with President Kennedy. And when he enrolled at Georgetown University in 1964, he was elected class president for two consecutive years.

Over the holidays, he went back to his home state of Arkansas to campaign for local candidates, an experience that familiarised him with the political landscape of the state where he began his political career several years later.

Towards the end of his Georgetown years, he applied for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship and wrote in his essay that he wanted to study at Oxford to "mold an intellect that could stand the pressures of political life." He won.

After a two-year stint at Oxford where he read hundreds of books, he flew back to the U.S. and pursued a law degree at Yale. He campaigned for George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic Party presidential nominee, during his time at Yale.

By the time he was running for congress in his 20s, he had hit Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule of mastery. No wonder he radiated charisma at that age. It's like what Josphat Mwaura, former director of Starehe Boys' Centre, said:

Success in life depends on your faith and beliefs, on your revealed purpose, on your passion, on your hard work and on your persistence till excellence and promise are delivered.

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Also check out "The Clinton Comeback Spirit".
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