Alumni of the Month
Hey, what’s your lovely name and what do you do?
My name is Whitney Mwangi. Currently, I am a Global Health & Communications & Advocacy Specialist at the African Union Commission and the founder of Story Book Enterprise.
What course did you study while in Campus?
I studied Bachelor of Arts in journalism.
Which year did you join AIESEC, and what was your last role?
If I am not wrong, it should have been back in 2011. Sadly I can’t remember my first role. I remember being part of the Marketing & Communications Portfolio before becoming the Editor in Chief of Culture Beez from 2013 to 2015.
How did you end up joining the Culture Beez Team?
Interesting story. When I was in campus, I did a lot of writing, and I would send my work to media houses for it to be published in their daily’s. There was an article in particular that I had reached out to one media house for follow up, and I was told that they had not published it. That’s when I reached out to Culture Beez to inquire if they would love to have me as part of the team. I shared my article, the one I had shared with the media house knowing it most likely wouldn’t be published when I was contacted being asked why I sent them an article published in one of the daily newspapers. I was taken aback a bit cause I realized the media house went ahead to publish my article without informing me. Since that incident, I would start publishing my articles with Culture Beez.
Did your role have an impact on your current career? If yes, how?
Definitely yes.
Particularly during the time I was part of the Culture Beez team, in as much as I studied journalism in Campus, there were things like graphic design, which we covered in school but not in-depth, that I got to interact with a lot when publishing the magazine. I got to sharpen my graphic design skills. Another would be fundraising for the magazine; reaching out to different companies and pitching to them came with many lessons. We had an internship program at Culture Beez where I improved my leadership skills by leading the entire team and getting to deliver on our end. Being at Culture Beez boosted my confidence in my writing skills. I didn’t realise it, but looking back at my internship experiences, my role in AIESEC played a role in my supervisor’s confidence in me.
What are you passionate about?
Writing. It’s the first thing I do every morning and even twice a day. Writing makes me feel centred. In the process of writing, I become aware of things I had been blind to for a while, and I find it so enlightening. My writing is usually more of SOFT STORIES; these are stories about things that people can easily relate to.
Tell us a bit about what you do?
To understand what I do, I’ll have to tell you a bit about what the AU Commission is and what they do. AU Commission is in charge of Policy formulation regarding various matters that affect our communities. These policies are then to be implemented by AU member states. My role is to ensure the information regarding all new policies regarding HIV, TB, Malaria and Health financing are conveyed in the simplest way for everyone to read and understand. We also take advantage of global events by having engagements regarding these topics. During International Malaria day, we will have an event to create more awareness of the strives we as Africa have achieved so far and what more we are yet to. I’m also in charge of writing the Health Commissioner’s statements, to mention a few of the things I do.
What is something you miss about being a member of AOUN?
I miss the aspect of Community that AIESECers have; it was refreshing to have an office that one could go to, and you’re sure you’ll have a hearty laugh cause of the funny stories that guys shared. Being an introvert and as reserved as I am, I made several friends that we’re still friends to date, and some have even recommended me for jobs.
What was your biggest takeaways from your experience as an AIESECEr?
Being part of AIESEC, I got to interact with young people doing many amazing things and see them shine at it; being part of them made me appreciate what I was good at and my uniqueness as an individual. Going for exchange to Turkey made me have a 360-degree turn in my perception of life. When they say travel the world to broaden your perspective of life, they weren’t wrong.
If you had a superpower for a day what would it be and why?
It would be to heal the world. So many people in the world are in pain that they endure in silence. For some people, it’s not their fault they have to endure the pain they do, but they have to carry themselves with an I GOT THIS demeanor when we know most of us don’t got it.
What was the last book you read and what did you love about it?
Relational Intelligence: The People Skills You Need for the Life Purpose You Want by Dr Dharius Daniels. I love it because it teaches you to categorize your relationships and makes you comfortable with creating boundaries where necessary.
Lastly, any shout out to your fellow Alumni.
My shoutout goes to Samuel Kinyua, Habel Mwashigadi, Nobert and Duncan Magana.
Published on AIESEC UoN ALUMNI Newsletter
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