Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Class of 2022
Jim Ovia Foundation Leaders Scholarship
“I’ve seen how one person’s decision to overstep the boundaries of ethical behavior can cost others,” shares Valentine Muriithi ’22. “Growing up [in Kenya], I witnessed these implications firsthand; a relative lost his job when he crossed the ethical boundary. The entire family suffered and is still reeling from his actions; a circumstance I believe could have been prevented by making the right choices. Since then, it has been my goal to share the value of ethics with future young leaders.”
Throughout high school, Valentine found platforms in the form of community service and internship opportunities, to advocate the value of ethics. Working with the Akili Dada Organization, she taught mathematics and physics at a community high school.
“I was awed by the Ashesi’s mission to train ethical, entrepreneurial
leaders, and that there was actually a university that had a strong
stance on principles that I believed in.”
Her career aspiration is to contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #9; to build a resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation. Striving to reach this goal, Valentine searched for internship opportunities and found one with Engineering Lab Africa under IBM. For two months, she taught robotics to high school students and built a system to notify under-privileged people of possible power outages.
“I am fortunate to have had these opportunities because growing up in Mutira Village of Embu County in Kenya, I always saw kids begging on the street and developed a passion to improve their well-being,” says Valentine.
Also participating in the Yale Young African Scholars Program, Valentine visited Ghana and met an Ashesi alumnus. Through him, she learned about Ashesi University.
“I was awed by the Ashesi’s mission to train ethical, entrepreneurial leaders, and that there was actually a university that had a strong stance on principles that I believed in. Ashesi became a place I aspired to be. Now that I am here studying Electrical & Electronic Engineering, I am working towards becoming a product developer and actively searching for spaces to serve the Ghanaian community.”
Share this story