Dr Purity Ngina’s story is one of academic recovery, persistence and a scholarship-backed climb to the top of her field.
She began with 235 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations, a result that her late mother, Lydia Ngina, was not satisfied with. She was asked to repeat class eight and push harder, and her score improved to 368 marks.
Despite financial strain through high school, she still managed a B+ and secured admission to Egerton University for a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.
Her performance there opened the next door. In 2013, after graduating with First Class honours, she received a full scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics.
By 2016, she had joined Strathmore University as an assistant lecturer. Her PhD tuition was paid by the German Academic Exchange Service.
Four months before the article was published, at the age of 28, Dr Ngina made history by becoming Kenya’s youngest PhD holder in Biomathematics.
Her journey was summed up in the line: “It is not your past slips but your zeal to achieve your goal that determines your future.”
