I am a passionate leader grounded on the principles of visionary leadership, service, and sustainable solutions. I first entered student leadership when I was elected as a Class Representative in April 2018, and I have been serving in that position for seven semesters now. I have also served at the Student Council in various committees including the Committee of the Student Council President on Student Affairs and the Committee of the 2019 Academic Awards Gala.
I have the great honour of currently serving as the President of the Strathmore Mental Health Club since March 2020. I was awarded “The Deans Award 2020” in August 2021, for my work in mental health awareness initiatives at the Strathmore Mental Health Club.
About the Strathmore Mental Health Club
The Strathmore Mental Health Club was formed in 2018 by Kristy Obuya and Wambui Kang’ara, both in the graduating class of 2020. I took leadership after they left office in March 2020. The Club currently has 5 council members and a membership of over 100 members.
The Club’s vision is to promote the mental health, consciousness, and wellness of individuals in the Strathmore University fraternity. The Club achieves this through the creation of safe spaces to promote open and honest conversations around mental health; availing platforms to foster access to mental health information and services as well as partnering with like-minded organizations to create this awareness.
The Club was forced to switch its events and operations to online during the COVID-19 pandemic when studies were done virtually. Events such as the October 2020 Mental Health Awareness Week and the May 2021 Mental Health Awareness Month were held virtually via Zoom. The club recently held a first physical event during the pandemic called Men Tubonge to discuss the stereotypes that deter men to speak about their mental health and seek support. The event aimed to deconstruct the deadly stereotypes and encourage the men to open themselves to safe spaces and seek support when in need.
The club launched its website www.sumentalhealthclub.co.ke earlier this year, in February. We are currently working with The Stratizen Podcast Club to establish a mental health podcast show that will help spread awareness.
The Club won the “Club of the Year 2020” and “Best Report 2020” awards during the Clubs and Sports Awards 2020 on August 9th, 2021. This was in recognition of the many initiatives and events we had geared towards mental health awareness in 2020.
In June 2021, I was nominated to the British Council as a young leader by Ms Christine Mwangi (a Faculty member and founding Deputy Director at the Centre for Public Policy and Competitiveness at the Strathmore University Business School). She is also my assigned mentor during the project tenure. I am currently working with other young leaders affiliated with the British Council from all over the world and the United Kingdom Prince’s Trust in co-designing the Youth Summits around the commonwealth games.
My passion in Finance is predominantly in the financial markets and products offered by securities exchange markets. “Financial Institutions and Markets” was one of my best units in my third year. I also had the great opportunity by gaining technical experience in equity trading and fixed income securities when I did my internship at KCB (Kenya Commercial Bank) Capital Limited -a subsidiary of KCB Group PLC, between February and May 2021.
My management research project is in the field of financial market products offered at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. I am currently investigating, “The Influence of Ibuka program in promoting listing to the Growth Enterprise Market Segment (GEMS) at the Nairobi Securities Exchange”; specifically, the influence of Ibuka in promoting awareness of the listing requirements and benefits that accrue to small and medium enterprises that list on GEMS; training of Ibuka hosted firms and enhancing their corporate governance for them to prospectively list to GEM.
My plan for the future is to be involved in initiatives that make a great difference in society and transform lives. I ultimately seek to contribute my time and energy to fostering sustainable solutions and good governance with the vision of building transformative institutions that address persistent challenges, through necessary policies for sustainable good.
About the Bachelor of Commerce Programme
The Bachelor of Commerce (BCOM) is designed for students wishing to gain a degree qualification to maximize their career options. The course is structured into a series of modules designed to focus specifically on the core functions of management.
The course is structured to reflect the changing world of commerce and to equip its learners with the necessary skills, ethical principles and general knowledge needed for decision-making in a contemporary business environment. Learn more about the Bachelor of Commerce Programme.
Article by: Peter Wanyangi, 4th Year Bachelor of Commerce Student
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