HOW I JOINED KCA UNIVERSITY AND THE STRUGGLES I WENT THROUGH.

Life in Kca University.

September 2008 saw me join  KCA University for a Bachelor of Commerce degree. For me, the dream that I had always had, that of joining an institution of higher learning had finally started seeing the light of the day. In here, shock awaited me. On the first day, we were given a piece of paper where we were expected to write our names, and e mail addresses. I and another colleague of mine had never heard of an E mail address hence left the space blank. This was just an indication on how much we were lagging behind as other students had already embraced technology and used it even in the place of work. The closest I had come to any office machine was to a type writer which was used by orderlies/Secretaries hence I could also not operate it.

After this, it was time to introduce ourselves in class. The other students proudly identified with their work places where most were from the private sector and could proudly say so. When it came to my turn, I could not tell the class that I was a police man. Thanks to inferiority complex and considering that police officers were known for not so good things, I decided to say this….My Names are Kabere Martin, I work for the Ministry of Internal security, Office of the president!”. There was no place that I said that I was a police constable and more so a GSU officer. The refusal to disclose where I was actually working and more specifically to state that I was a officer of the law was informed by the fact that  the public was not known to be so kind to officers and the officers ourselves had and still do to date  continued to taint our image hence making the job of a police officer less desirable to many. However, with time, the very closest of my friends totaling to five had the ‘secret’ revealed to them.

Life over here was full of surprises as per my own way of viewing it. First was the freedom to either attend or not attend classes as long as one attained the mandatory 70% attendance as per university rules and regulations. The other was that Continuous assessment Tests and Assignments either sit in or take away were to be factored in when computing the final end of semester grade as 30% and the sit in end of semester exam comprised 70%. This was un usual according to me since I was used to the exams that we sat for during our end of term in primary and secondary school which was 100%. The other major highlight was that of handling group assignments which was a great way to work together despite having come from diverse backgrounds. This was no walk in the park as there were serious group members and other joy riders but managing this was a great way to learn on how to work in groups both in school and at the work place. Mwakenya’s, which are hand written class notes, on small pieces of papers which were used as a way to cheat during exams were also widely used but once one was caught had to face consequences as detailed by the university exam rules and regulations and this was being sent away from the University forever.

A semester, which is an equivalent of four months, soon came to the end and we sat for the end of semester exams. This being my first semester, I had taken five units, two short of the maximum that one could possibly take. This was informed by the fact that I was attending evening classes and Saturday classes too but had no official permission from my employer to attend the Lectures hence had to sneak to classes. With my job being that which we are always on call, I could be called for an immediate assignment when the class was half way hence could leave immediately I saw my supervisor/Corporal calling. The worst of this experience was one day when I had just sat down in the lecture hall for five minutes, attending a business statistics class and was called for an urgent assignment and had to leave. Everyone in class looked at me in dismay but they could do nothing much. Either way, the semester ended amidst serious disruptions where to make the matters worse; I failed in one unit, Principles of management and had to sit for a supplementary exam. This was so sad for me and I felt like giving up and investing what I had set for fees to other investments. What made me think this way was the fact that I felt that I had done the paper well and hence deserved a better mark having done well in the CATs and Assignments but when I tried to discuss this with the lecturer, all he said was that he had set a very technical paper hence I may have done badly. This was not welcome to me but thanks to a good friend and a fellow police officer, I was convinced that all was not lost and decided to continue to second semester.

 

The Second semester was now on and I decided to take the maximum number of units which was seven. The semester too was a struggle owing to the fact that balancing work and classes was not easy but after the end of semester exams, I had passed the whole seven units which was a turning point in my Campus life. Come the third semester I was able to proudly identify myself as a police officer as myself worth had significantly improved and I also realized that those who I thought were ‘superior’ owing to their backgrounds and work places were going through similar experiences like I was going through. Some had even three supplementary exams to sit for despite I having taken them as extra ordinary. With all these struggles, those of disruptions, Supplementary exams, problems of raising fees amongst others, I was able to successfully sit for 56 Units and by April 2011, it was time to say Goodbye to KCA University and wait for graduation that was to take place in December the same year. Later in the year, I graduated with a second class honors upper division which I always prayed for and worked for. I must admit that it was not a walk in the park but all I can say is that the favor of the Lord was always with me throughout the course.  Mum and her friends, my extended family, my friends too and other guests came to witness this colorful day and their presence was simply electrifying. Partying together, Singing, dancing and reading the scripture plus words of encouragement and thanks giving was what this day was characterized by as seen in the photo below:

 

After KCA University I joined Institute Of Human Resource Management for a Higher Diploma In Human Resources Management.

By the time I was done with my undergraduate course, it was time to pursue post graduate studies hence I applied for a higher diploma in Human Resources Management at the Institute of  Human resources Management that was to start in June the same year. As I was waiting for this, I enrolled for a driving course for the month of May hence by July I was done and ready to start the new course. IHRM was to be my new home of studies for the next one year. This was one of the most organized institutions of higher learning that I have ever attended. The classes were manageable, well organized, small in number, effective in communicating to students on matters affecting them and any other matter that required our attention, had student friendly lecturers, pocesses a well equipped Library just to name a few. Life here was amazing as the students were always actively participating during lessons, engaged the lecturers on issues related to Human resources management hence learning was not only taking place but one was also growing in other areas.

This course was to take one year and was divided into two semesters of six months each and after the end we were to sit for exams that were examined by the Kenya National Examination Council. The year ended so fast and soon, it was time for exams. This was one of the most exciting yet daring times of life in adult learning. This was because of another course that I had started at the University of Nairobi in June 2012 where I had enrolled for an MBA hence after I was done with the KNEC examinations; I was to break for one week and then sit for another Six exams for the MBA course. However, I passed all the Units in both courses thanks to prayers and walking that extra mile just to ensure that I would not get frustrated like in the first semester of my Undergraduate studies. Later in the year, it was time to graduate for the Higher Diploma. At PCEA St Andrews hall, we were allowed to invite a few guests hence my ever loving mum, her twin sister who is my aunt, Mike a cousin of mine and John a high school buddy were all I had invited. The day was a colorful one and having emerged the best student in Fundamentals of Human resources management in KNEC 2012 Series was a moment to reckon as my name was called out and had to walk to the front so as to receive a Non cash prize of Ksh 10,000 which was sponsored by Jubilee Insurance. 



To God be all glory and Honor!