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Ekasi Podcast

We believe that stories have the power to influence and inspire our university community. Through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Edinburgh, we are seeing the impact on the lives of Scholars but also the wider Edinburgh community and beyond. Thanks to this inspiring community of Scholars, stories have emerged about culture, race, identity, leadership and gender. Through this podcast, we want to use stories of day-to-day life to address these themes and inspire our community to reflect, connect, understand and where needed – challenge one another to make change together.

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Ekasi Podcast

First day of class - feelings, success, Scottish accent and comparisons

September 04, 2020 • Mastercard Foundation Scholars at the university of Edinburgh • Season 1 • Episode 3

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Edited by: Geofrey Njovu
Soundtrack by: Ifeanyichukwu Ezinmadu

Episode 3: First Day of Class – Christopher Kuamba and Brenda Mioniki.

Welcome to the third episode of Ekasi Podcast’s debut season. In this episode, our hosts (Geofrey and Julian) engage two student guests in a reflective conversation about their first day of class and the expectations they had about the University of Edinburgh. The guests are Christopher Kaumba from Zambia and Brenda Mionki from Kenya. Chris is a philosophical young man who is currently studying Economics and Mathematics. While, Brenda is into plants and entrepreneurship and is currently working towards a degree in Pharmacology. She wants to become a sustainable leader of tomorrow. Both guests give us insights into their first day of class.

In this fast paced and emotional conversation, Brenda and Chris reflect on their anticipation of student life. They shed light on the difficult realities of university life including how draining coursework can be at times. They provide useful survival tips for students and warnings about the dreaded assessments. Equally, our guests, being international students, discuss how to find one's feet and make social relationships in a foreign land.

Tune in and take a ride as our guests and hosts speak about varied first-year university experiences such as integration, making connections and how to adapt to student life especially in an overseas context. This promises to be a truly unforgettable episode and one that cannot be missed.