The Class of 2019

EASF’s flagship project, the Education and Social Empowerment Program in Kenya, placed a record 100% of its students at US universities this year, adding Columbia, Tufts, MIT, Amherst and Duke to its growing list of schools.

A program-high five students were admitted during early decision and four were awarded special scholarships reflecting their leadership. The 10-member class averaged 2000 (of 2400) on the SAT and produced five perfect scores on SAT Subject Tests. Princeton-bound David Chege Gitau led the way, scoring 2390 on the SAT, a score rarely seen in Kenya.

Over four years, the total scholarship value for the ten is pegged at nearly $2.5 million. Total costs for the 2015 class were approximately $25,000 with the East African Scholars Fund paying directly for $11,000 of expenses including test registration and American tutors’ airfare.

Here’s a look at the Class of 2019:

Shadrack Lilan, Penn World Scholar
Elsie Odero, Duke MasterCard Foundation Scholar
Gideon Cheruiyot, Columbia Kluge Scholar
Joyline Chepkorir, Michigan State MasterCard       
    Foundation Scholar
David Chege Gitau, Princeton
Vivian Kiniga, Cornell
Vincent Bett, Tufts
Getrude Wangare, Amherst
Christabel Sitienei, MIT
Dalton Leshan Thuku, Brown

Outside of the academic arena, the class has used community needs assessments to hone critical thinking and community service to hone leadership skills. The students also played an active role in recruiting the EaSEP Class of 2015, part of their “pay it forward” vision.