How two top students forged friendship and academic excellence

Andy Kibet and Samuel Kisilu epitomise two souls bound by the invisible threads of shared classrooms, playground escapades, representing their school in international competitions, and pursuing a shared career dream.

The two were among the top candidates in the 2024 KCSE exams at Moi High School-Kabarak, achieving outstanding results.

Kibet scored an A plain of 82 points, while Kisilu followed closely with an A- of 80 points.

However, their story goes beyond grades and rankings. It’s a decade-long journey of shared classrooms in various schools, tackling similar exams, boarding flights to represent their school on different continents, and ultimately forging a unique friendship.

“Ours is like fate. Our paths have always crossed, and we keep finding ourselves in same places. From attending Makini School in primary to ending up at Moi High School-Kabarak, this feels like,” Kisilu says.

While they were not particularly close in primary school, joining the same high school brought them together. Over time, their bond grew stronger, and their dreams began to align. 

In a class of 356 candidates spread across eight streams, Kisilu and Kibet frequently found themselves in the same classroom, dormitory, and even sharing rooms during trips abroad to represent their school in competitions.

“We discovered a shared love for Mathematics and Physics, constantly challenging and motivating each other,” Kibet recalls. Our friendship grew beyond academics. Together, we’ve traveled to Doha and the US to represent our school in the World Scholars Cup,” Kibet says.

World Scholars Cup is an international annual academic programme that brings together students from over 60 countries across the world. In the programme, the students are often given questions that require critical thinking skills as well as their basic knowledge to conclude rather than focusing on memorization. 

“This kind of competition is all about teamwork and when our team qualified for the global rounds in Doha, we shared rooms. After that, we proceeded to the tournament of champions at Yale University in the US. We have shared great moments balancing between studies and competitions and that is what has brought us even closer,” Kibet narrates.

Mentoring

But it is not only about sharing moments in dream cities like New York during the times of their academic pursuits at Kabarak that defined their journey; their time at the institution also played a pivotal role in shaping their similar career paths.

Both are determined to pursue their careers abroad, with the ultimate goal of returning to Kenya to apply the skills they’ve gained.

On Thursday, when the results were released, the duo traveled from Nairobi to their school in Nakuru with their parents to celebrate with the teachers.