IT IS NEVER THAT SERIOUS, JUST BE YOU

“IT IS NEVER THAT SERIOUS, JUST BE YOU…” EMILY OTIENO ON LIFE, MONEY AND CHEMISTRY

Emily Anyango Otieno is an Analytical Chemistry graduate, an accomplished youth advocate and budding beautyprenuer. She has a passion for youth leadership and was popularly elected to Kenyatta University’s student council (as a female representative) and was also the Vice Chairlady of the Christian Union.

Emily used both opportunities to lead and shape conversations within campus. During her tenure, she campaigned against drug and substance abuse amongst the youth. She was also engaged in varied community outreach projects to impact her community including, the Ji-kuze Youth group, which holds welfare drives for children homes and distributes uniforms, books, food, mattress and sanitary products to the less privileged in society.

Her fondest childhood memories are those she spent playing outdoors with her friends. She loved watching TV and would rush home after school to catch up with her favourite programs. In adulthood, one of her hobbies is watching YouTube vlogs, an affinity that has led to her partnership with other youth in establishing the Millennial News digital platform.

The platform, which is in its nascent stages, is empowering Millennials and Gen Zs through expressive, informative and credible content. Starting new ventures is never easy however, and she affirms that financing big ideas, like their envisaged podcast, is proving an uphill task. She is nevertheless, contributing to its growth through her seasoned publications on money, career and business.

Her love for youth leadership and activism continues to flourish as she is currently a volunteer at YALF Africa where she advocates for gender inclusivity, positive leadership amongst young people as well as the achievement of the Africa Agenda 2063 goals.

 

When we pressed her on the greatest challenge facing teenagers and youth, Emily cites poor self-image and identity crises as the major pains for today’s youth. “Many youth feel that they have to behave a certain way or to be like someone else. I want to tell them its never that serious and that life is beautiful. Just be you, you are uniquely amazing”

She intends to live by the same philosophy and is already designing her 10-year life plan, to ensure that she grows into the best version of herself. As a beautyprenuer who loves to see women in stunning hairdos, Emily hopes that in a decade’s time she will have built her brand in the beauty industry or will have advanced in her career to a managerial or CEO position. She also hopes to start a foundation to empower many more youth and to help them stay in school.

Her recent experiences as an intern with Hesabika Trust, under the Governance Internship Program (GIPro) complements these ambitions. GIPro is raising value driven leaders for the public service and Emily says that her stay at the State Department of Interior and Citizen Services, provided her with career exposure that many other young people would not otherwise get.

Life can only get better from here for the 25 year-old youth activist. And if she had to choose between the ability to rewind to a previous time in her life or the ability to fast forward her existence, she would choose the latter because she already knows her past and is now ever so curious, about her future.

For more information on the Millenial podcast, do check out www.themillenialnews and you can also reach out to her at emilyotieno99@gmail.com to support her work or to join in on her varied community initiatives