Dr. Fridah Mokaya, who graduated with a PhD in Nuclear Physics took determination and courage to pursue a science course from her family.
And true to her faith and hard work, it paid her abundantly when she joined a top US varsity
Here are some key facts that will motivate you about the first female black to acquire a PhD in Physics
- She joined University of Connecticut PhD program as the only black Physics doctoral female (student) in her department
- In her high school, she missed choosing physics by a small margin of 2% cut off pass. Only her dad’s intervention saw her proceed with her career to date
- True to her determination and hard work, she got an ‘A’ in Physics when she sat for her final KCSE exams
- She later joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya for a Bachelor of science degree in Physics
- But things didn’t go well for Dr. Mokaya when she realized that she had scored only a second-class honors lower division . She briefly worked at Barclays Bank in Kenya before going back to class
- This is because she never expected to come this low, but she moved on with her career in Physics
- Dr.Friday Mokaya went ahead and enrolled for a master’s degree (M.Sc. Physics) in the United States at the Binghamton University (SUNY)
- It quickly followed another intensive class when she joined the PhD Program at the University of Connecticut where she conducted research in the field of Experimental Nuclear and Hadronic Physics.
- Despite doing her PhD, she also had time to take care of her pregnancy and newborn later.
- She married her long time boyfriend whom they had met while schooling at Pangani Girls High School
