My story “Unshattered dreams in the Quest for Education overseas”!
This surprises me every day because a girl from a village in Nandi, Kenya ended up in Malibu City with neighbours like Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, and other world billionaires,
In the quest for Education
My journey to America has exceeded my expectations. Life is a struggle everywhere; however, in the USA, there are many opportunities.
It was a struggle for me to get the USA visa; I went for the interview three times. My first interview was in 2021, and I didn’t get the visa because of my bank statement. It did not meet the required amount, and I was denied.
My second interview was in January 2022; this time I didn’t mention it to anyone because I was afraid to disappoint people, especially those who have stood by me all this time. I didn’t get the visa, but I never gave up. This is because, all my life, I have learned to be persistent. When life throws hurdles at you, hope is the only thing you hold on to. This doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you; however, He puts us into temptation to strengthen our faith! After I failed to secure the visa on my second interview, I wrote back to Pepperdine University, explaining my story.
This is when I realized it’s okay to be transparent, despite the expectations from school. It’s okay to seek help, even if you are rejected.
I explained to them my background, something I had not done before. I did not bring out that part that I am a student from a humble background and what they require of me is not possible, which in this situation means I won’t have secured the F120 because it is required for every international student to submit their bank as a condition. However, when I told the school the truth, they increased the scholarship, and in addition to that, I was accepted by two more schools with partial scholarships in the USA.
I combined these three admissions with my newspaper story and sent it to the Embassy. I remember mentioning to them that this dream of going abroad is not only mine; however, many girls are looking up to me. If I fail, they will also fail! They responded and set my interview for 3 weeks’ time. This time I went there with confidence because I trusted in God and myself, and secondly, I was open about my situation.
My Visa application interview was scheduled at 6 a.m., but when I walked in, the officer asked for my documents and requested that I wait outside. I waited until 1 p.m., then they called me in. My interview was the longest one; I had to share my story with him, my dreams, and so on. Eventually, I was offered a visa.
When my visa was confirmed, I was extremely happy, and I shared the good news with everyone who has been part of my journey. The same philanthropists helped me get the air ticket, and I left for the USA last July.
When I arrived at LAX, I was a bit confused and didn’t know how to get to school. It was my first time traveling, and at that moment, I couldn’t remember my name. I was tensed about the situation. At last, I managed to get into a taxi to Pepperdine University.
But I was not concentrating on the beautiful view of Los Angeles City but on the taxi meter, hoping it didn’t go beyond my budget. After an hour, the driver said, “Ma’am, we are here; which side are we going to?” That’s when I took my eyes off the meter, and I was mesmerized by the beauty of Malibu, the ocean, and the beauty of the school.
I became so emotional, and he asked me whether all was well. I responded, I made it here, and nothing will stop me from becoming who I want to be. I also took a moment to thank God for getting me this far and reminded myself that this journey is His own will, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I trusted Him to walk me through. It’s not going to be easy because I ended up in a high-end place in the USA, Malibu, the home of celebrities and world billionaires.
When I travelled there, I didn’t have anyone to host me because there are no Kenyans in Malibu, at least not that I know of. The school was kind enough to give me a 2-week stay for free at the school hotel as I looked for accommodation off campus because accommodation within the campus was expensive.
I found a place in the neighbourhood. This surprises me every day because a girl from a village in Kenya ended up in Malibu City with neighbours like Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, and other billionaires, surrounded by a beach! Who would have thought that, although there are other challenges due to my background situation, housing, and everything being expensive, I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience this? The public transportation in Malibu is not reliable because everyone is driving except the homeless, who ride the bus daily.
Whenever I missed the 6:30 a.m. bus to school, I would call friends from church or school to pick me up. My first lunch in a restaurant in the city was courtesy of two first friends from the neighbourhood. I would say try to meet people and make friends, even if you don’t fit in. There’s a reason why God positioned you in that place; take advantage of it.
Due to school, I didn’t have much time to have fun because any free time I had outside school, I worked for housing and tuition to pay the balance after the partial scholarship. It’s a tough situation; however, don’t be selective when it comes to job opportunities if it’s legal and you have a social security number. Though during orientation, the school said we were not allowed to work off campus, the on-campus job is not enough to cover all the expenses in Malibu.
However, this was not favourable to me because on-campus employment is not enough to cater for my needs, so I took the off-campus job, but I informed the school in case of anything. If you want to be helped, you need to be transparent. Be transparent from the beginning. As mentioned earlier, this is a land of many opportunities, and it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture due to temptations, but if you stick to your goals, challengers are there, but you can overcome them.
I work part time at Vintage Grocery in Malibu; this is a local grocery store, and we have a few celebrities who are regular customers, and opposite our store is where they shoot movies every day, what a privilege to experience this firsthand.
I finished my first year, and before the end of the second semester, I applied for an internship. I only applied for one think tank, the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, MI. My friends from school advised me to apply to more than one program because you can’t rely on one, but I told them that I only focused on one at the time. As always, I am hopeful about things, life, and so on. My faith is firm!
There’s a reason why I ended up at Acton Institute: I experienced a lot, both academically and socially, and my network has grown. Acton was founded by Fr. Robert Sirico, a Catholic celebrity priest, and its mission is “to promote a free and virtuous society sustained by individual liberty and characterized by religious beliefs.” When I read this on their website for the first time, their mission and core values, I noticed their interests aligned with mine.
In life, don’t do something for the sake of doing it; do it with passion and with a purpose. Acton Institute presented me with many opportunities, and one is that I was among 20 students who were selected from all over the world. I worked with the Poverty Center department, whose focus is on the challenges humans face and their fight for a dignified human life.
Poverty has deprived human beings of the right to live a dignified life, and this department works with groups of entrepreneurs from all over the world to help them invent ideas, fight for free markets, and change the world.
They also extended their invitation, and I am among the five students going to Seattle in October for a vision and call crew retreat, but before that, they invited us to the leadership summit in September, and I am looking forward to it. Poverty has deprived humans of the right to live a dignified life.
Apart from Acton’s full time staff members, the other interns who were in the same department were from Brazil and Hungary. It was a journey full of experience and so much fun learning about their culture. We exchanged a lot, and even though they are back home in their countries, we do keep in touch.
Every day we had a series of seminars, and in one of them, I had the opportunity to meet and have lunch with one of the billionaires in the city, Mr. Heinrich G. Hank Meijer. He also gifted me with the book and his autograph. In addition, we had a small conversation about our Kenyan athletes; he had some concerns.
He has been to Mt. Kilimanjaro, and he is hoping to visit Kenya soon. I also had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Annette Russell, the widow of Russell Kirk, the American historian and political theorist. Annette Kirk is the founder of the Russell Kirk Center, a non-profit organization in Mecosta, Michigan.
Another incredible opportunity that Acton presented me with was to publish my article on their website under Religious and Liberty Online: https://rlo.acton.org/archives/124699-the-problem-of-cults-in-Kenya.html.
My journey is about faith. My faith in God is strong, and I do not worry about any situation because I always land on my feet.
Janeth Jepleting is a master’s student at Pepperdine University’s school of public policy and an Emerging Leader at Acton Institute 2023. In 2018, she completed her undergraduate studies in political science at the Catholic University of East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya
Jepleting a resident of Kilibwoni Nandi county has seen it all, from being subjected to domestic violence by her father alongside her mother to dropping out of school after getting pregnant at age 15.
All these predicaments that would ordinarily shatter dreams of many young girls however, haven’t stood in Jepleting’s way in her journey to prosper academia with a vision of emancipating and empowering young Kenyan girls to achieve their dreams.
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