Many ABE learners have truly inspirational stories to share. ABE Level 6 graduate, Sariq, is one such person. His tutor, Peter Hombe from Oshwal College, told us his story:
Sariq comes from a humble family located in a town called Machakos. He joined Oshwal college after obtaining his "0" level and "A" level qualifications from Oshwal Academy Nairobi. He has two-years managerial experience in the FMCGs sector and is currently running a business of his own. He has also obtained numerous awards for his leadership positions in high school as well as in college as a class representative and vice president of the Students' Association
Sariq is an extremely curious character who goes the extra mile in order to obtain knowledge. As a student at Oshwal College, he would often utilise information from books related to other courses in order to learn more. He was very inquisitive for the purpose of obtaining detailed knowledge. He has now been accepted onto the final year of a BSc Business Management distance learning programme from the University of Wolverhampton which is expected to begin in September 2018. Showing his desire to continue learning.
Sariq was working in the FMCG sector when he joined college. Over the years he has shown continuous personal and professional development through fairly quick promotions at his workplace. He is currently involved in the family business while running a successful business of his own which deals in agricultural brass fittings. He claims the reason for his success is attributable to the knowledge that he gained through the ABE platform.
Sariq faced quite a number of challenges in his social as well as educational life. He used to commute a distance of sixty kilometers to Nairobi on a daily basis in order to achieve an internationally recognised qualification. He would travel on public transport through fairly risky routes. This meant time management was a significant challenge due to his five hour daily travelling time and maintaining a balance between his educational needs and work requirements. Regardless, he would always be on time for his lectures and had exceptional grades throughout his studies.
Sariq also faced the challenge of being the vice president of the students' association in the college. He used this to work on his leadership skills through collective decision-making and his democratic approach towards handling difficult situations. As a result the college conducted several successful events during his occupancy of the position
In the future, Sariq is determined to globalise the supply of his products and make donations to the needy in his town. He wishes to create a positive impact in society through business operations. With regards to education, he wants to obtain an MBA with a major in marketing.
Sariq is inspiring because he was so dedicated to his learning that he was prepared to for over five hours every day and still found time to be class representative and apply himself to extra learning. He was a college topper in nearly all of the units that he did which illustrates his drive to attain excellence. In addition, he was able to start up a business and lead it to above average success in just eight months. His entrepreneurial spirit should not be unrecognised.