“There is no perfect student. It’s all about working hard and loving what you do.”

Since the first day of New Student Orientation, Esther Mbabazi (BME ’19) knew she wanted to be the next Student Guild President. Esther wanted to speak on behalf of others and be able to serve her class. The current Student Guild President at that time, Wirira Parfaite, told her to work hard, perform well, and love Akilah in order to make this dream a reality.

Now having achieved this goal, Esther hopes to focus on two main things: continuing to build relationships between the student body and the administration and instilling an even deeper sense of community service. This year, students will be part of a family structure, with each family consisting of first year, second year, Day, and Evening & Weekend students. By using this family structure, Esther believes students will be able to better help each other academically and socially, and form a strong support system. Through the families, she also believes that she and her fellow Guild members will be able to speak on behalf of the rest of the student body more successfully.

Esther is sworn in by Akilah’s Executive Director, Aline Kabanda, and the outgoing Student Guild President, Parfaite Wirira, to become the new leader of the Cabinet.

Second on her agenda, Esther wants to empower her fellow students to do more within their school communities. Through the Social Change Projects, students are able to work with local communities, but Esther also wants to focus on reinforcing this behavior to give back within the student body. “It’s really important that we encourage giving a hand to someone else to help,” she says. Esther has a few ideas she’s hoping to implement, including a ‘charity week’, where students in need are identified, and the rest of the student body finds solutions to help.

Born in Jinja, Uganda, Esther came to Rwanda in 2016. She is the youngest of ten siblings, with most of her brothers and sisters working in the accounting field. After growing up around so many accountants, Esther knew she wanted to do something different; she didn’t want to wait for others to give her a job, instead she wanted to have the skills to start her own business. She decided to study at Akilah because she knew she could gain the skills she needed.

“Akilah is a place that makes you feel like you already have what it takes to achieve your dreams. It shapes your mentality and gives you the vision that you can do anything you want.”

Esther working on her business plan for the Student Enterprise Course. Her group created a line of products out of kitenge.

In September, Esther will start her second year in the Business Management and Entrepreneurship diploma program. Her favorite things about the program have been the Student Enterprise course and Akilah’s Incubation Center. In the Student Enterprise course, students come up with their own business plans, develop and make the product, and then sell it. Esther enjoyed the class so much because she likes the challenge of selling a product, especially having to meet and network with new people. The Incubation Center has helped Esther feel like realizing her goals is attainable.

“The Incubation Center is relatable to students because [through talks with local entrepreneurs] it shows that great people started like you, and then became something. Being great does not happen in one day, it is a process.”

Now that Esther has gotten a taste of the responsibilities of being on student government, she has set a long-term goal to one day become a minister for youth or gender. By working in the government, Esther feels there is a bigger platform to empower and support young people, and to continue Rwanda’s remarkable journey of development and sustainability.

But for now, she’s focused on what the Student Guild can do to make an impact at Akilah over the next year.

“Everyone has a mission and goals to fill, if we combine all of them to make things happen, we can continue to transform Akilah.”