Before we enter the 2019 – 2020 academic term, we would like to spotlight a few staff from AKA Mombasa who are going on to pursue new adventures in the upcoming academic year. Here, we take a look at Stephen Nyundo, a Mathematics teacher and head of the department, and his five years at the Academy.

Stephen Nyundo is from the Kenyan coast, specifically from a place called Kaloleni and was the head of department for the Mathematics department at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. Apart from the Mathematics department, Stephen was also the year level leader for year 9.

During his five years at the Academy, Stephen said he has admired the supportive relationships he’s made, which have helped him become a better teacher.

“My experience has been enriching and very rewarding at the Academy,” Stephen said. “I have interacted with friendly and accomodating people who did not look at my weaker side. People would tell me things would be fine, even when they actually appeared otherwise. I was supported in my early years in my professional growth and got an opportunity to learn all that I needed to learn. I will miss the family, friendship, strong ties and network I’ve built here. I will definitely miss the Friday treats.”

Stephen said the ethics and values instilled at the Academy not only influenced the students, but himself as well.

“The Academy has molded me to what I now am,” Stephen said. “I will carry with me the Academy values that I am sure will propel me to greatness.”

For the Mathematics department, Stephen said he has worked with students to develop methods on helping other students who might struggle with the subject.

“A good example is 'Euler Fulfillers', a YouTube initiative by two of my Mathematics HL students who came to me with the idea,” Stephen said. “After brainstorming, we thought this was the best move where Academy students can share with their fellow students in the Academy what they know best and also help others out with challenges in Mathematics. The other platform is the ‘MathMagic’, which brought together students from all of the classes to showcase how Mathematics is applied in real-life in the various units covered. The next platform we had planned to start working on was the 'Mathletics', which is a modified form of a treasure hunt. This is where talent is found; students make use of what they have learnt in the classroom to various situations in real-life.”

After his time at the Academy, Stephen said he is ready to pursue other teaching opportunities. However, Catherine Orwe, a Mathematics teacher who works with Stephen, said he will be dearly missed at the Academy by both students and his colleagues.

“Stephen has not been just a colleague for us, but a true friend and a person with a big heart,” Catherine said. “He always made time for all even when he had tight schedules to meet. He is always very positive even when the rest of the crowd was struggling with issues. He always worked very collaboratively with colleagues to achieve our departmental goals. He pleaded with members’ input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise, and he was always willing to learn from all of us. Yes, we have learnt so much from him. He is an amazing Mathematics teacher, and I know his students here will miss him. Stephen is a person that pays attention to details in everything that you do and he is the one who would point out the changes that we needed to make in our presentations both at table and the curriculum implementation. We will definitely miss having a wonderful friend like Stephen. Good luck to him in his future endeavors! We hope the new place he goes to is full of fun and happiness.”