Kevin Kamau

Wassup y’all! My name is Kevin Kamau. I am a third-year at the university studying Management Information Systems. I am from Marietta, Georgia. I went to a decently sized high school in Powder Springs named Hillgrove. However, since it is a relatively newer school, most people resonate more with the school that is just five minutes away from there, McEachern. While I am on the topic of schools, I feel it is only right to provide a bit of a fun fact. I went to four different elementary schools because my initial elementary school got flooded twice. I don’t know whether to consider it poor strategic planning or the luck of the draw working against us multiple times!

Background

I am proudly of Kenyan descent. My mother and father immigrated to the United States in 1996, while the Olympics was taking place here in Atlanta. This was a pretty prominent time for many immigrants to enter the United States. That being said, I am the youngest of three children. I have an older brother and an even older sister. Many people do say that I come off like an only child or the eldest child, something which I am still trying to figure out if it is a compliment or a slight diss.

Being a child of immigrant parents provided me with the opportunity for many hurdles and setbacks as a child. I say opportunity because I genuinely look at it as an extremely formative period in my life. I say this because it really taught me to be able to think on my feet quickly. Many of my peers who’s parents went to school in America were familiar with the schooling system. Me on the other hand, was kind of forced to figure things out for myself. Not to say my parents did not make strong efforts to aid me in any way possible because they really did all that they were capable of. All this to say, hard work and adaptability were instilled in me at young age. These key values have allowed me solve countless problems that arise in my life with grace and humility.

Passions

I wanted to start this section by touching on one of the things that I am most passionate about, which is soccer. I feel as if this represents a pretty big component of who I am. I have played soccer for about 7 years now, which sounds like a long time, but it really isn’t considering most of my peers started around ages three and four. I played soccer abroad in England, France, and Kenya. Side note, the food in England was some of the worst food I have ever tasted. They would eat things such as beans on toast and cabbage for breakfast and act as if everything was normal. My favorite team is Manchester City, and I can sit and talk about it at any time of the day. As college started to pick up, my soccer endeavors began to dwindle a bit. I have went from 3 hour daily training sessions to 3 hour pick up games every other week. It was a pretty difficult transition for me at first, but nonetheless I am happy that I am able to keep it a strong part of my life.

Another thing that I am pretty passionate about is creative expression. I like to use this word because it is pretty vague, as it should be. Sometimes, I portray creativity through the clothes I wear, and sometimes it is portrayed through the music that I listen to. I think it is very important to have time to let your brain wander to whatever creative escape it wants and create action behind it. I am probably the worst drawer/artist you’ll meet, but I think it is very soothing to just pick up your pencil and begin to draw on a blank piece of paper. I recently picked up the hobby of being a DJ. This has been a pretty fun experience because it has thrown me right back in the deep end of feeling completely lost. It is so easy to get caught up in the status of attending such a prestigious university and working at a prestigious company, that one may forget that is only one aspect of your life. I am not described by my job, my major, or any word. Being able to work with the unknown truly allows me to test my resolve, and I am excited to update you all on this journey.

University of Georgia

Another fun fact while I am on a roll is that the University of Georgia is the only school that I actually applied to. I was torn between Emory and Georgia Tech as well, but for good reason I am eternally grateful that I did not end up at those schools. To speak on my past and current involvements on campus; I was heavily involved in the Student Government Association my first couple of years on campus. In addition to this I was a member of the Black Affairs Council and Georgia Daze. Now, I am currently the President of the Black Business Student Association and a Tour Guide at the Visitors Center. Some of my favorite memories at this institution have been the result of these programs!

I wanted to touch briefly on the amount of growth I feel that I have experienced at the University. Every semester I feel as if I am learning something new. Every semester presents its own trials and tribulations followed by its own blooming and blossoming seasons. I truly understand what people mean when they say college flies by. One day you can’t wait to get out of here, and the next day you really just how much you love it here.

Professional Experiences

The first professional experience I want to touch on was working at Jersey Mike’s Sandwich Shop. I just wanted to mention this because this was my first real job as a teenage and it really taught me at an early age that work is all about game management. Sometimes you really just have to play the game! Anyways, my freshman year I worked with my dad the entire summer as an “Operations Manager Intern”. I put quotation marks because when working with family businesses, I feel as if most people just put down a position that suggests that a lot of work was involved and growth was made. Truth being told, I did learn and grow a lot. However, there is always a different level of genuine eager to learn when working with your family. The summer of 2022, I was a Consulting Solution Intern at PWC. This was a pretty cool experience because it really showed me what it was like to work in a corporate management firm. I thought that wearing suits to work everyday would be a pretty cool feeling. Needless to say, that feeling wore off pretty quickly. PWC was not my only professional endeavor throughout the summer. I traveled to Deloitte University for a Leadership Summit. I went to Houston, Texas for a conference with Ernst and Young, followed by a trip to Miami for a NABA convention. This was followed by a virtual bootcamp with Mckinsey and Company. At the culmination of my summer, I was given the opportunity to do a one-week program with Bain & Company in Atlanta, Georgia. After all this, I actually decided to work at Boston Consulting Group in Houston, Texas this upcoming Summer. It was a pretty busy summer.

Last fun fact that I wanted to mention is that I am also a Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway!