Monumental Firsts - Achievements, going back home, expectations and future ambitions

Welcome to the eighth episode of Ekasi’s debut season. In this episode, our hosts – Julian and Geofrey engage in a profound conversation with two guests – Daniel and Omar. At present, Daniel Mutia is an Electronics and Electrical Engineer in his final undergraduate year at the University of Edinburgh. Omar Kanyi, on the other hand, double majors in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the same university. Daniel is from Kenya while Omar is from The Gambia. Both of them are recipients of the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship.

While the point of focus for this episode is the guests’ ‘monumental firsts,’ the highlighted themes are diverse. Daniel speaks about his experience meeting Princess Anne upon invitation to the royal dinner in his first year of studies alongside numerous university donors. He delves deep into how this event catapulted his university life trajectory for the better. Omar, on the other hand, explores the rewarding feeling following his first-time staged poetry performance. Additionally, he ventures into the rigorous process of forming the first ever European university-based Model African Union and the joy of seeing the success of its flagship event.

Both guests speak about the pressure that comes with being role models to their peers, and how they harness this pressure into a force that pushes them to be better people with each passing day. They speak about the importance of self-belief as a fuel that has kept them going despite the once-in-a-while doubtful moments that plague their existence.

Finally, the guests reminisce on their first time going back home after having been in university (and in the UK) for an extended period of time. Having been away for so long, they share about the sudden memory jolt they experience when they find themselves thrown in a different (albeit similar) system of life that they once knew as home. They also talk about how their friends’ perception of them had changed now that they had been out of the country, and how they navigated the new expectations that the friends had placed upon them.

Tune in to hear the reflective, insightful and yet uplifting contributions from Daniel Mutia and Omar Kanyi to the final episode for Ekasi’s debut season.

Edited by Geofrey Njovu
Soundtrack by Ifyeanyichukwu Ezinmadu