By Linet Aguko

The inaugural cohort of Scholars under the Mastercard Scholars Program have elected new officials to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Council, with the Chair of the USIU-Africa chapter representing the University in the global Mastercard Foundation Scholars Council.

The electoral process for the Scholar Council representative began on Friday, October 8, with a meeting with the Scholars in which they were taken through the function and structure of the Scholar Council, including its role, the responsibilities of the elected officials, the term of office for elected representatives, among others.

Participation was opened up to all 23 Scholars, with the positions up for grabs including that of the President and Scholar Council Rep, Vice President, Secretary General and the Finance Director. Each position had three nominees who were either nominated by other scholars or nominated themselves. All candidates had two days to campaign, after which they participated in a debate where they had the opportunity to field questions from the rest of the Scholars to give more insights into their plans of action if they happened to be elected.

Elections were conducted on Monday, October 19, 2020 through a secret ballot overseen by 3 commissioners, drawn from the continuing students in the Foundation’s ALA Scholar’s Program, and three observers, drawn from the Admissions and Fundraising Departments, who oversaw the process and gave overall guidance in conjunction with the Program Director. The winners were announced at the end of the day, and they included Chut Dau Giet, who was elected as President and the Scholar Council Representative, Amos Onyancha, who was elected as Vice President, Kharis Ilunga as the Secretary General, and Yasmin Opiyo Kwach as Finance Director.

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Council was created collaboratively by MCF Scholars from participating MCF institutions for the purpose of fostering individual and program success through active student participation, relationship-building, and the maintenance of strong links with alumni. The Council sets out to produce an active body of scholars who put into practice the ideals of giving back to society, effective leadership and outstanding personal and professional accomplishments that positively impact communities in tangible and quantifiable ways.

The Scholar Council representative will serve for a full calendar year and support the onboarding process for the next representative at the end of their term. The elected officials will be officially inaugurated on Monday, October 26, 2020.