After four years in campus, Hesabika was just what I needed towards career alignment. Bringing in my inclination as a leader and aligning it to my career was for me, a game changer.  Through my experience, I have grown to appreciate the fact that leadership sometimes is not presented in suits and graced in front of cameras. It is also something that comes dressed in overalls, helmets and lab coats in geothermal steam fields and laboratories! My ten  months of internship work at the Geothermal Development Company has helped me appreciate this.

Before then, going through induction at the Kenya school of Government (KSG) and Kenya Judiciary Academy (KJA) gave me a chance to appreciate the expertise that technocrats have put towards having a working government. These training sessions gave me a chance to see that excellence is not only practiced in the private sectors but has its place in our government too. One thing I learnt is that the government is not entirely what we see in the social media outlets. The prevailing perception of the government as a corrupt place can be over-magnified, causing a loss of hope for the citizens. Unfortunately, this  often negates many good things happening in its different sectors.

My workplace is one such sector, where good things are happening in Kenya. Indeed, the Geothermal Development Company has been a place of sharpening and growth for me both technically as a scientist and also as a leader. At the company, I am part of a team that does sampling and analysis of steam samples collected from our fields in Menengai and Baringo. I also work with  Geo-chemical scientists and help in the process of generating scientific reports while in the office. Growing to the point of doing sampling and some analysis gave me a chance to see and appreciate the role of technical work towards making major decisions in the energy sector.  Through the lenses of KSG and Hesabika training, I have grown to see analysis in the bigger picture. The numbers we get in the labs are not just numbers, but equal the decisions made in the company. Thus, every time I have held a pipette or an auto-titrator in the lab, I know that my conclusion translates to a decision and therefore if I fail or compromise, I not only end up sabotaging the dream of every Kenyan to access cheaper, quality power, with the green energy agenda, but I also fail God’s expectation to serve His people with excellence.As a leader, I have grown in teamwork, timekeeping and even more important has been the strengthening of my convictions and values such as  integrity as I practiced it in the place of work. These qualities have been key, driving me to dispatch my duties to the best of my ability.

Initially, all I could think of the government was lack of integrity and accountability, but through Hesabika we have met more men and women like our mentors; individuals committed to change the norm through the work they do. This has given me hope that the journey to Kenya’s transformation has not begun with us but is something we come in to continue. Indeed there is hope for good governance and leadership, and this begins with you and me.

Looking ahead, I not only seek to be an advocate of good governance but also be part of the movement in whatever way possible. As we look towards convocating, I come out with a new song titled “Integrity and Excellence!” I look forward to singing it to those coming after me because the change we foster will only be possible if they are also part of the change, and they can only be part of this change if we stand, walk and talk about it now in all manners possible.

NITAHESABIKA!