Allow Me to Re-introduce Myself…
My name is Isaac Kipkurgat, a 27 year old man from Elgeiyo Marakwet County. I am currently a student in Nairobi Zoezi Institute pursuing diploma in Sports Science and I find it both informative and enjoyable. I am also interning at Lavila Gym — Langata as a trainer to gain work experience and also fulfil school coursework requirements.
My childhood
I spent all my childhood in my rural home in Elgeiyo Marakwet County ( Birth to 15 years ). I undertook my pre-primary and primary education within the County. I didn’t travel much — the furthest I travelled was our local towns — Eldoret and Iten.
I was quite cheerful and sensitive as a child, I feared punishment both in school and at home so I tried as much as possible to avoid trouble. Being the youngest in a family of four, I was quite favored and loved especially by my grandmother — I lived with my grandmother for nearly four years.
My mother was a primary school teacher — headmistress; my father was a civil servant — who was involved road construction. I didn’t spend much time with him since he passed on when I was young.
Farming and livestock keeping/herding was the main economic activities I was mostly involved in as a child till the time a joined high school.
My Teenage Years
I spent my young adult life in high school and the city. It has been a long transition learning to be a city dweller all those years. I completed high school in 2013, and joined campus immediately.
Highschool was a great adjustment, I had never interacted with that many people from different backgrounds in my life. I also was not used to not being best student in class in academia. I was the best student majority of the time in my primary school. It deflated me a bit that I could not crank that position again in high school.
I was quite conservative in high school. I preferred avoiding trouble at all costs. We had such a strict and punitive deputy headteacher — I couldn’t dare get in his bad books.
In the course of trying to adjust and fit in in high school, I found myself absorbed in pop and black American culture. The movies, music — especially hip-hop and the lingo. I thought it was cool to know how to sing and talk like them, so I learned it. I thought it would help me fit in — it did a bit. This influence has stayed with me till date.
High school ended in a quick finger snap fashion.
Young Adult Life
My late teens and early twenties were consumed by higher education studies. I joined Strathmore University in 2014, I completed both a Diploma & Degree in Business in Information Technology. I completed in 2018 and graduated in 2019.
My campus life was also short, but an uphill battle. I felt that I struggled especially to complete my degree.
I performed quite average compared to high school performance. Lack of close supervision to be up to task played a major role in my performance. There was a lot of freedom, and peer pressure and a general lack of interest in school work hence the performance.
The upside about campus was that my interest in the gym developed, I joined a local gym in my neighborhood in 2014, it became the thing I that I was mostly interested in through campus. The interest still burns all these years later. It has been the one thing that I have always gone back to despite major challenges e.g. injury or re-prioritization due to job demands. The place that I found most satisfaction and felt wholeness.
My Adult Life — Life After Campus
I graduated in 2019 and immediately got an internship in Jumia Kenya — Marketplace as a Vendor Acquisition Agent. I worked for 9 months. I joined Jumia J-Force as a freelance online and field work agent after the internship ended. I learned a lot about ecommerce.
I later joined a start up company as a sales associate in an FMCG Company where I worked for a year. The job entailed marketing and sales of fast moving goods. We were squeezed out of the market by competition hence the company winded up. I learned about customer service, sales and marketing, book keeping and other business processes at it.
After the wind up, I immediately joined my third job by referral. I was an operations associate at a family owned real estate and farm business. I applied sales and marketing in it; my knowledge in business processes and accounting deepened in the course of the job. This role ended in Feb 28th 2023, and since then I have transitioned to my long time passion which is fitness. This is my second month while at it.
The office and field jobs lacked job satisfaction since I felt I was doing things that I wasn’t really interested in and in some cases that I was not remunerated enough for the job — they were mostly uphill battles. In fitness, I have found joy and satisfaction at nearly all levels so far. It has given me a sense of peace and direction.
The return to school to pursue Sports Science has been an enjoyable experience so far since it is an area of heartfelt interest.
In Conclusion
I am an ambitious, high energy human being especially when it comes to things that I have intrinsic interest in. I enjoy an enabling work environment wherever I go hence I try to either create it or push for it. I love be physically active, I love to write self-reflective journals and articles, I enjoy reading and listening existential and philosophical material, I enjoy consuming and creating content on social media. I try as much as possible to be a better human being. I value family, friendships and things that I have a natural affinity towards.
My greatest goals in life are to attain prosperity, peace and good health.
Thank You
Yours Sincerely
Isaac Kipkurgat
