Wednesday
June 21, 2023
On Monday when we were in Kigali with Sister Laetitia, she wanted Joni and me to have a chance to catch up with Leslie ISARO. Those of you who have followed this blog will recognize Leslie’s name. She graduated from MGS in 2021. This is what I wrote about Leslie on December 11, 2022 when she visited us in the Residence.
Leslie is a 2021 graduate of MGS. Leslie had been the Maker Space Prefect on campus. She told a wonderful story of watching the first days of the Maker Space and wondering if it was a space for her. She said, “I was not doing well in my classes then. But once I began working in the Maker Space and I began to understand the elements of making robotics, my grades improved dramatically. I suddenly saw why I had to learn math, what scientific principles were important. Making robots made my learning make sense.”
Leslie is currently working with a group called Rwandan Water Access. Run by a woman, the business provides water at reasonable rates to needy families. She is applying to college for engineering. She wants to continue to work with students in the Maker Space. She even went to the robotics competition on Saturday to cheer on the team that won first place…her current MGS,
S5 and S6 colleagues.
Sister contacted Leslie and we arranged to meet in a lovely dining area of the hotel in Kigali that is run by the archdiocese of Kigali. The profits of this charming space are used to fund projects for the Catholic congregations.
Catching up with Leslie meant asking her about her decision to attend the African Leadership University which has a site in Kigali. She had been accepted early in 2023 and had just began her studies in a semester that began in May. She was very happy with her choice of university experience. She described why ALU appealed to her after her MGS and internship experiences.
The founder of ALU is Fred Swaniker. Mr. Swaniker (you can catch him on TEDTalks and YouTube) experienced his youth being constantly uprooted with his family to escape political turmoil. Born in Ghana, by the time he was ready for university studies, he had lived in 10 African countries. He went to Macalester College in the US, earning a degree in economics. He came back to his home in Botswana, taught and became Headmaster of a school where he came to believe in the power of education to create leaders who would stabilize Africa. He earned an MBA at Stanford and began his work to inspire young people to devote their talents and promise to building a strong Africa.
One of the aspects of ALU that attracted Leslie was the way the school asks students to declare a Mission as well as a Major. I found this fascinating. Leslie was spending the first term of her studies learning about her continent. She is learning about the 7 great challenges that African nations face (urbanization, education infrastructure, healthcare, climate change., governance, job creation),and how the 54 nations are facing these challenges. She said that she was excited to be learning more about all of Africa and how Rwanda’s challenges are also reflected in the challenges other nations are facing.
She is also learning about the 7 great opportunities that problem solving in these challenges, can create: Agriculture; natural resources; Arts, culture, and design;
Tourism; Women empowerment; regional integration; wildlife conservation. The purpose of beginning their studies learning of these challenges and opportunities is to encourage students to declare a Mission, an area in which they want to work and use their knowledge. For Leslie, her internship with Water Access Rwanda has made her want to have working in water resources for Rwandans as her mission. As Mr. Swaniker believes, a university education would inspire you to find a purpose for your life, a Mission in which you can use your knowledge to create a strong nation.
Leslie explained that once a student at ALU has chosen a Mission, the academic portion of their studies begins. There are two degrees offered at ALU: BS in Entrepreneurial Leadership and BS in Software Engineering. From her experiences with the Maker Space, and her internship, she wants to pursue the BSE and learn how computer engineering can contribute to her career in Water Resource Management. How it can contribute to her becoming a leader in the field.
As Leslie spoke with us, it was easy to see her commitment, her excitement. Declaring a Mission as well as a Major appealed to what she had learned about learning in the Maker Space at MGS. For Leslie, she needs to know that what she is learning in the academic sphere makes sense in the practical sphere. She is adamant that what she pursues academically has a practical application in the real world. It can help her solve a challenge that impacts the quality of life. As she spoke, I was reminded of this quote from Mike Rose in Why School?
“A good education helps us make sense of the world and find our way in it. “
There is no doubt that higher education in the USA is under scrutiny from many vantage points. Even as we await the Supreme Court decision on Affirmative Action, there are many issues that need discussion across all institutions. What is the value of the traditional college education? What is it worth? What are the majors that promise a good salary? Perhaps we should carefully consider what has attracted Leslie to ALU. What would it mean if all post-secondary education challenged our youth to declare a Mission as well as a Major? As described in the ALU website, this approach asks students to “discover your life’s purpose and align your learning with this purpose.”
Or as Mike Rose reminds us: “A good education helps us make sense of the world and find our way in it. “
Linda V Beardsley
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