Daystar Student with Aspirations and Opportunities

From a young age Jesse has had very definite goals. They haven’t always been fulfilled right away, but in the process of waiting, he’s taken advantage of some pivotal opportunities that have really helped him along the way. Jesse would like to become a lawyer, and in time, become a judge. Jesse had an uncle who was a lawyer and that uncle’s daughter was also a lawyer. The uncle was dealing with a case of “land grabbing” when he passed away. “There was a question of what happened with his demise,” Jesse recalls, “But no one was willing to tell us exactly what happened.” Jesse wants to affect policy and make sure to bring justice to his people: the Maasai. Because they are a minority, Maasai are often taken advantage of when it comes to legal matters. He had a teacher in high school who suggested that he become a lawyer since he excelled in History and English. Jesse sees it as a calling.

Since childhood Jesse has been interested in and involved with music. In the sixth grade he joined a folk music group that entered a music festival contest. Through this experience he learned to play a traditional stringed instrument called an obokano. Jesse went on to high school at Moi Forces Academy, a prestigious national high school. He took classes in music theory and learned how to read music. He felt fortunate to learn skills that are often not looked at as valuable, yet they are “complex skills that I now own.” In high school he was chosen to help lead the choir and as time went on he learned to sing baritone for European pieces of music. When Jesse finished high school, and was waiting for a placement in university, he joined St. Joseph Brass Band where he learned to play trumpet. In this group they played contemporary, local Kenyan, Afro-fusion, and African gospel styles of music. Shortly after that he joined a choral group called Nairobi Chamber Chorus. There he found that sight reading was a necessary skill. He was thrilled to work with Hans Zimmer during this time, who is known for multiple movie scores, including the Lion King.

While waiting for a university placement as he spend the first 8 months of 2024 in a mentorship program with an African Choir. Here Jesse learned to direct the choir at another high school and took the group through a local competition. His experience in a competition in primary school, combined with skills in reading music and recent choral training, all made the challenge of taking another group of students through a competition rewarding. Jesse was pleased to have the combined skills to accomplish this with confidence.

Jesse is enjoying life on the Daystar campus. “I get to interact with the lecturers and have personal, detailed attention. I feel very privileged to be at Daystar. This is different than other universities in Kenya – and I have the opportunity to grow my faith.”

When Jesse started at Daystar his father’s health was failing. “I really can’t say how my life would be without a scholarship at Daystar! It’s such a hard question, I can’t imagine.” His father’s health has improved. “I would likely be doing music, but not getting paid. And I really want to pursue law.” All the experiences with music will help him as he continues in law. Many musicians don’t really understand their contracts and how they can have them fulfilled. There are also issues related to intellectual property and copyright laws that many musicians are not aware of. “It’s a challenge I would like to bring a solution to – for sure I will be able to incorporate music into my future career.”