How a rare moment of defiance led one Kenyan girl to Yale University

Esther at ALA with classmates

Esther says the teaching and learning method is unconventional as it emphasis on developing the capacity of students through practical skills and projects.

“The education system makes learning fun and engaging. We had to come up with community projects and business ideas and implement them according to industry standards. It wasn’t just about grades in class.”

At some point, her team had to report to a ‘Board of Directors’ from the corporate world and produce news reports in a segment named ‘This week in Africa’.

It was at ALA that Esther met Michelle Obama as part of the Young Women Leadership program where only three ALA students were selected to be part of.

“I also participated in the Aspen Ideas Program run under the Bezos Scholar where I met the Bezos (parents of Amazon founder Jeffrey Bezos), New York Times celebrated journalist David Brooks and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey,” says Esther, without any hint of name-dropping.

At ALA, Esther learned self-awareness and what it means to be a global citizen. Public speaking became second nature to her as she engaged with other students and became involved in various international projects.

“In addition, ALA helped students apply to US universities through tutorials, coaching on SAT and college essays,” explains Esther.

The process of applying to US colleges is quite intense as thousands of students from across the globe apply to the Ivy League universities.

“Since I was in class six at St. Mary’s Ruaraka Primary School, I have always dreamt of studying at Harvard University. But a series of events at ALA made me reconsider,” says Esther.

Four of her teachers at the Academy attended Yale for their undergraduate and Masters and had a lot of good things to say about the institution.

“The Yale Orchestra singing band visited ALA and I was quite impressed by their discipline and talent. I got to interact with them a bit,” explains Esther.