By Isaac Akugizibwe

KIU Main Campus-Two weeks after graduation, KIU Alumni Aleu Kon Kon is beginning to face life outside school. He is however determined to dig into his creative mind to earn a living as he looks forward to advancing his craft.

Kon Kon is among the over 2000 Students that recently graduated during KIU'S 26th graduation ceremony but he is doing all that is possible to avoid being a member of the group that is avoiding answers to the now customary question, 'After University, what next?.

"I'm just very prepared and ready to work in any job whether blue collar job or white and am also trying to figure out what I can do to earn a living outside employment. I am beginning to realize all my dreams and passion and this is just a new life beginning for me," he said.

Achieving a degree in Economics is a dream come true for the South Sudan International who only needed determination, patience, and consistency amidst distractions like the unprecedented Covid-19 lockdown that delayed his dream.

 "I feel more grateful than before because  I have secured a degree in economics which is one of my life milestones achievement,  it has been my dream,  passion since my under schools," he said.

"It was determination and persistence with God being my chief guide and my parents, relatives as well as friends.  Group discussions we had formed as colleagues and my personal commitment and the love I had for my course ensured my success.

The reason why Kon Kon won't stop thinking creatively is that he doesn't want to disappoint the people that have supported him all throughout his academic journey. He shared how he got to KIU.

"I struggled a lot with lower secondary and high school until I first enrolled at the Catholic University of South Sudan affiliated to the  Catholic University of Eastern Africa based in Kenya,’’ he recounts.

 This is where I began my first year in June 2017 and in January 2018 one of my friends who came from Uganda told me that KIU is the best university in Uganda if you have the money you can get adequate knowledge concerning your field which is economics. 

That was the first time I came to know KIU by name till I landed at Entebbe international airport on 26 February 2018 before proceeding to KIU main campus the following day.

" I was told to wait for April intake because January intake was officially closed then. So from there, I managed to get an admission letter for the April intake. I waited until 24 April when the semester began. I was told during registration that despite the fact that you have done your first year in the catholic university of south Sudan you must do foundation which they called access or matriculation certificate something which shocked me at the time, so I did that for the whole of 2018 before enrolling for bachelor's in January 2019.

The former president of the KIU South Sudan Students Association is looking forward to returning to KIU for a master's degree.

" I'm planning to enroll for masters of arts in economics for January intake here in KIU.