On Obama’s campaign trail

NATHAN WANGUSI, 28, is a man of many coats. He is an engineer, an environmentalist, a student leader and an active campaigner on US President Barack Obama’s team. He spoke to JOAN BARSULAI about his hectic lifestyle and lets her in on what Obama is really like in person.

Tell us about yourself…

I was born in Nairobi and I grew up in Rift Valley in a family of five over-protective brothers and a sister and dotting parents. My parents struggled, but they always gave us the best they could afford.

What did you study at school?

My parents stressed the importance of education from an early age, but it took me awhile to figure out that school was about education and not having fun. I went to primary school at Testimony School in Eldoret and later Sacho High School in Baringo.

Subsequently, I was accepted on scholarship to the United World College of the Atlantic in the UK for a two-year International Baccalaureate programme. I eventually found my way to the US where I completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and a Masters in Environmental Engineering at the University of Florida. I am in the process of finishing a PhD in Engineering.

Talk to us about your life to date — your projects, as well as your professional and career path…

I am currently writing my doctoral thesis and working as a field organiser for the Obama campaign. Field organising is a challenging job that demands a lot of patience, perseverance and good people skills. We plan presidential campaign events. I am also the Diaspora spokesperson for a peace initiative dubbed ‘Tenebo’ and will be speaking at the Kenya Diaspora Conference organised by the Kenyan Embassy in Washington DC next month. The theme will be the role of the Diaspora youth in peace, development and governance in Kenya.

In the past year, I was elected into the University of Florida Student Government as a student senator. In this capacity, I led an effort to have a tree planted in a prominent spot on the university grounds as a memorial after the death of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof Wangari Maathai. I also worked with the mayor to have a local public holiday named in Maathai’s honour in the City of Gainesville in Florida on October 21.

After this initiative the Maasai community in Kenya contacted me to help initiate a tree planting effort.

You are also involved in fighting corruption in Kenya. Tell us about it…

I had read that the average Kenyan pays up to 16 bribes in a month. I had a rude awakening to this reality two years ago when I visited Kenya. Within my first few weeks of being there, I had been solicited for several bribes. In response, I decided to take action in fighting petty corruption in Africa using technology. The initiative, ‘Kuhonga’, is based on a ‘whistle-blower’ website designed to track and document corruption incidents in real-time.

What does your daily schedule entail?

Unlike most people, my main job actually begins after dinner. Given the amount of other things and meetings I have, I focus on reading academic papers and writing my thesis during the day. I then work in the Obama campaign office in the evening shift and weekend.

Do you think it was important to go to school and get degrees?

Nelson Mandela once said education is the best weapon to change the world. Education opens up our minds to possibilities and gives us the tools we need to excel in our careers and impact the world around us. Having a good education opened up opportunities for me to see the world, meet people from different cultures, learn different languages and change the world in my own small measure.

What was your childhood dream career?

During my sister’s first birthday party in 1988, my parents invited the legendary rally car driver Patrick Njiru, who showed up and gave us rides in his Subaru. I might have been five or six years old, but from then until recently, I obsessed about being a race car driver. I still hope to be a rally car driver. Maybe that will be my retirement gig when I hit 80.

What have been the highlights of your personal and professional life?

The highlights of my academic career were when I received the United World College Scholarship after high school and the prestigious Rotary Ambassadorial Fellowship in 2009. The two years I spent at the United World College in Wales redefined who I was as a person and the trajectory of my life.

Being elected as a senator in the University of Florida Student Government and working on the Barack Obama campaign were also a big deal for me. I have had the unique privilege of meeting President Obama and other luminaries in the US government, including being invited to talks in Capitol Hill with senators and representatives.

We have to ask: What is Obama like, up close and personal? And what do you admire about him?

I have had the unique opportunity to meet President Obama a couple of times on the campaign trail. Despite his achievements and stature, he is down-to-earth, a trait that has endeared him to the world and earned him such a loyal following across the political spectrum in the US. Few people know that he speaks some Swahili, so you can imagine how delighted he was when I called him mheshimiwa! President Obama is the kind of servant leader that Kenya needs.

What do you love about your job and all the other projects you are involved in?

The most rewarding aspect of my job and projects is empowering people to take control of their own environment and destiny. The anti-corruption project ‘Kuhonga’ empowers citizens to take responsibility for their own behaviour as well as keeping their communities accountable.

Serving in the student senate and as field organiser on the Obama campaign has taught me a lot about democracy at work and issue-based politics.

What’s your advice for the dudes out there?

In my opinion, there are three things that define a man’s success in life — how he treats women and the disenfranchised, his faith in God and his work ethic. The measure of a man’s success is not what he gains, but what he gives back.

Are you dating?

I prefer to say I am courting someone. I am fortunate that she chose me. She is exceptional, kind-hearted, diligent, thoughtful, independent and God fearing.

How do you relax?

I experiment with different things and lose interest just about as fast as I engage with diversions. The constant, however, is music. I play the piano and guitar. I also enjoy playing tennis and biking. I recently finished writing a short anthology of poems in a book Songs of Soul.

What inspires you to do what you do every day?

The world has a lot of problems that need solutions, but there are two things that motivate me to do the work I do — passionate love for the environment and a deep dislike for corruption.

What do you see in your future?

The one thing I can say with confidence and resolve is that I will be returning to Kenya to take up the mantle of leadership in whatever capacity. I intend to continue working with ‘Kuhonga’ and advocating for greater participation of the youth in governance in Kenya.

In the meantime, I am focused on completing school and hope to work in the private sector for a few years to improve my technical skills and mature as a leader.

Who do you admire most?

The late Professor Wangari Maathai for her selflessness and courage in her fight to protect the environment and democracy in Kenya. I recently met Ikal Angelei, the audacious young environmental activist from Turkana, who has been fighting against insurmountable odds to protect Lake Turkana. I admire her creative resolve, selflessness and passion. I also admire Professor James Ole Kiyiapi for his brave stance.

Originally published at https://www.standardmedia.co.ke.