At this year’s awards night of TISCA 2019, held at the University of Lancaster, student Julio Mkok was awarded a prize for outstanding achievements in the academic year 2018/19. His nomination information read:
'Julio Mkok is a much-valued member of the student community at the University of Bristol, who is known to be intelligent, there for anyone who needs him, insanely funny and always able to make someone, even on their worst day, crack a smile.
A final-year law Student, Julio has endeavoured to speak up for and represent his fellow students since the moment he arrived at the University. Throughout his entire degree at the University of Bristol he has been a course representative for LLB Law students at the University as he feels strongly that all students, and particularly International students, should have a voice. After talking to his fellow Kenyan, Ugandan and Ethiopian students he noticed that they felt they did not have as strong a presence in the university as other communities did and so took the initiative to set up Bristol’s first East African Society, last year, to riotous success.
This year he has continued to represent students, with over 1400 people electing him to become Bristol Students Union’s Union Affairs Officer. He hopes to continue improving student experiences at the University within this role, on a much wider scale than before as he is now able to affect the lives of all students at the University. One of the key initiatives his campaign ran on was ‘improving student experience.’
What made you decide that Bristol University was the one for you?
The esteemed reputation of the University with it being ranked top 10 for Law in the country and a prominent member of the Russell Group, but the determining factor was good references from past alumni from back home in Nairobi, Kenya.
Why did you choose to study law?
I am interested in politics and the best way to uphold the law is to understand the law.
Congratulations on your ICONS award for outstanding achievement at TISCA 2019! Tell us about the event, what was it like finding out you’d won the award?
The International Students Conference for African Students (TISCA), held at Lancaster University, was indeed an exciting experience. The theme of TISCA 2019 was ‘African Students & Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ and stressed that ‘since the youth are the future of Africa, considering African students in the UK and their role in achieving the sustainable development goals has become crucial and non-negotiable.’
There were a wide variety of talks such as “Why decolonisation of education and knowledge in Africa is an urgent task” given by our very own Dr Foluke Adebisi. On a personal note I had the pleasure of meeting The Education Attaché of the High Commission of Kenya to the UK, Hon. Dorothy Kamwilu, and sharing ideas on the education sector in the UK for international students.
On Saturday night, there was a banquet dinner and awards night, where I had the honour of receiving the ICONS Award for outstanding achievements in this past academic year 2018/19, which included establishing the University's first Bristol East African Society as Charter President, being elected three years consecutively as a Law Course Rep and finally my recent election as one of the 7 Sabbatical Officers of the Bristol Student's Union - Union Affairs Officer. I was both humbled and proud to be presented with this award by Dr Akanimo Odon, CEO of the XN Foundation and organiser of TISCA 2019.
What have you found most inspiring during your time at the University of Bristol?
The best part of my time at the University of Bristol is the environment it creates to assist me to fulfil my full potential. It is an area where I can try out new things, make mistakes and learn from them in order to become better.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced while studying?
Being away from home can be very hard at times (especially coming all the way from East Africa), but I have found that having a strong network around you of good friends and supportive teaching staff can help with that a lot.
What are your plans for the future, do you have any long-term goals?
As mentioned earlier, I have a keen interest in politics. I plan to become President of the Republic of Kenya one day in the future (vision 2032) to represent the interests and fight for the rights of the under-privileged people in order to make significant change, not only in society but in terms of the economy of Kenya and its relations with foreign states.