Fanuel Oolo

Student

“SMC is no vacation for me because, when I go back home, I expect to create something good for my country. I work hard to gain the skills I need.”

Fanuel Oloo has a great love for his country, Kenya, one of the world’s most spectacular natural realms. “The people of the country are wonderful, and if you ever travel there, you will see some of the most beautiful natural parks—with nature just as it should be.” But, though he has a great fondness for his homeland, he has no illusions about the problems it currently faces.

“Kenya is a developing country, and we have constitutional problems and terrible corruption. This is killing Africa, because the leaders are power-hungry,” he says. “They abuse the constitution to feed their own egos, their own people, and their own interests. And this is terribly serious,” he says with genuine passion. “I have been planning on going into student government at SMC because they get involved in seminars and leadership training that I could put to good use if I ever go into politics back home. And I feel I must have some good background and training if I ever want to be trusted as a leader.”

Fanuel’s training at SMC is leading him into the practical world of computers and business. “A friend of mine came to SMC and transferred to the University of Houston, where he’s doing his Master’s in Business Administration. I want to transfer to Cal State Northridge and do the same thing,” he says. “My dad is a businessman, and I feel that, with the right computer skills, I could help him or start my own business. But having information skills will also mean to me that I will have a way to reach the people of Kenya—and help them.”

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