It is the norm of society to perceive top academic performers as the next leaders and game-changers of the future.
Many are the times that those who perform below par in national exams are written off by the system as their chances of succeeding are seemingly curtailed.
However, in the case of Mwangi Mukami, he defied expectations after scoring a D+ in KCSE but ultimately ended up graduating with five degrees in the United States of America.
Mukami, who's fond of sharing inspirational messages on social media, noted that his dreams and aspirations of becoming an attorney were dismissed by his peers.
"Years ago, Kenya’s educational system wrote me off as a failure because I had a D+. I remember vividly saying to my peers that I wanted to be a policymaker or an attorney. Their response was a burst of collective laughter and sneer,” he stated.
Undeterred by their disapproval, Mukami endeavoured to prove the naysayers wrong. His journey dates back to 1984, where Mwangi was born in a family of nine, five brothers and three sisters. Raised by a single mother, they struggled to make ends meet in Kawangware, Nairobi.
Years later, at only 17 years of age, he was accorded the chance of serving as the first-male Children's president of the Kenya Children's Cabinet.
According to his LinkedIn page, he was part of those who pushed Parliament to enact the Children's Act.
"At 17, I served as the first-male Children's president of the Kenya Children's Cabinet. In this role, I championed the Parliament of Kenya to enact the Children's Act, a national law protecting children's rights," he stated.
Seeking to implement change, he founded the National Youth Parliament of Kenya three years later. This enabled young leaders to sit in the actual parliament to converse on issues that involved them. In addition, he established the Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr Foundation which sought to support underprivileged children and youth through a number of educational-based programs.
"At 24, I founded the Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Africa Foundation and served as its Chairman of the Board. Within five years, MLK operated in 8 cities across Africa with 14 full-time and 214 part-time employees," he noted.
By the time he left Kenya in 2009 for the United States of America, he sought to advance his education in order to continue his advocacy agenda.
Mukami attributed his success to his mother, whom he noted, was instrumental in his career by raising his siblings by selling groceries.
"Congratulations to my mom. The degree is a reflection of her tenacity. I am grateful and honored to have wonderful brothers and sisters who support and trust my ability to achieve,” he stated after sharing a post while graduating.
Currently, he has graduated with five degrees from distinguished universities: a dual bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Relations,magna cum laude from the San Francisco State University, two Associate Degrees in Behavioral Science, and Humanities, with honors from the City College of San Francisco, Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California.
In a recent post, he noted that his interest in pursuing numerous degrees sprung from the need to create social change in society.
Through the initiatives, he has supported a number of youths to secure scholarships to study abroad.
"We have utilized newspapers in education to enrich the knowledge of 300+ young scholars in Kenya and the United States, helping 98 percent of them to apply and receive scholarships.
"We have trained 100+ young leaders (18-34) on policy analysis, messaging for impact, non-violent communication, and leading teams. 65 percent of them receiving promotions within one year of leaving our program," reads part of his Linkedin profile.
