Zawadi Lemayian '09
High School Teacher Inspires Maasai Student to Beat the Odds
Zawadi Lemayian '09 (right) with her award-winning teacher Lawrence Njoroge. "I am happy that with continued exposure, such as the MIT recognition of myself, and more opportunities for students like Zawadi to study out here," says Njoroge, "we will encourage and facilitate change in our schools and society at large." After this photo was taken, the pair headed off to celebrate Commencement at an authentic Kenyan barbecue at McCormick Hall hosted by Lemayian's family. Photo: Tanit Sakakini.
By all odds, Zawadi Lemayian should not have even attended high school, let alone graduated from MIT. As a female from the Maasai tribe, she grew up in one of Kenya's most marginalized communities, where more than 80 percent of women will never have a single day of formal education—compared to an 85 percent literacy rate for Kenya as a whole—and not one in ten will reach the eighth grade.
But Lemayian defied the odds and graduated last week with dual bachelor's degrees in civil engineering and management, a feat she says would not have been possible without the help of one amazing high school teacher, Lawrence Njoroge.
Njoroge was her class teacher (students were divided into four classes) and English instructor for four years at her boarding school, Alliance Girls' High School, in Kenya. He not only devoted personal time to helping students pursue additional learning opportunities and helped them apply to college (the students didn't have Internet access), but he also authored an English textbook for use in Kenyan high schools, sought innovative learning experiences—like when he brought in actors to dramatize Chinua Achebe's novel A Man of the People, and solicited student feedback on the school administration—something unheard of but useful as students at other Kenyan schools staged a series of strikes in 2003.
This past year, Lemayian nominated Njoroge for a 2009 MIT Inspirational Teacher Award, and he was one of 34 educators worldwide selected by an MIT committee to receive the honor. What's more, Lemayian's family flew him in from Africa to attend Commencement.
"It's a fulfillment of how things should go," Njoroge said of watching Lemayian graduate. "You invest good teaching, but for me it's also about friendship." In Kenya, it's rare for teachers and students to stay in touch. But, as Njoroge says, "a few unique ones we dare to communicate with."
The award, Lemayian explained in her nomination, is important because it provides "a platform to give credit where it is due; most students end up successful as a result of principles that were instilled in them in their youth."
And Lemayian herself, while at MIT, certainly drew inspiration from the confidence Njoroge infused in her and considers his support an integral component of the person she is today. As she wrote in a letter to her teacher that accompanied his award acknowledgment: "Your belief in my abilities has encouraged me to pursue endeavors I would otherwise never have imagined possible. I am extremely grateful for the optimistic perspective you have helped me develop in life as well as the desire to improve whatever situations come my way."
Njoroge's trip to see Lemayian graduate marked his first voyage to the U.S. His initial impression? "It's like the big bang theory," he said. A whole other world. America also seemed well structured and efficient, especially with regard to transportation. And he appreciated the freedom students were given to speak their minds and flourish. "I admire the democratic space I see right from home and school; the early preparation of children for leadership; the balance between right and responsibilities (back home, we are still grappling with how to balance)," he writes in an email after returning to Africa. "For example, in class, students' opinions are usually not asked for—the teacher's role is one of transmitting knowledge and the students are there just to receive."
Njoroge is currently working on his master's in education at Aga Khan University's Institute for Educational Development in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and plans on returning to the classroom after he graduates in August 2010-but this time to teach educators themselves. Lemayian will work on an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) project this summer in finance and then begin pursuing a PhD in finance this fall at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
The MIT Inspirational Teacher Award, cosponsored by the MIT Alumni Association and its alumni clubs, the Lemelson-MIT Program, and the MIT Public Service Center, provides a vehicle for MIT students to formally recognize influential high school teachers and offers a way for MIT to celebrate outstanding educators and help influence K-12 education. Award recipients are given an Athena account to access MIT resources; information about MIT opportunities for high school teachers, students, and schools; and recognition by local MIT clubs when possible.
By Amy Marcott
Published June 11, 2009
