{"id":60998,"date":"2026-03-31T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=60998"},"modified":"2026-03-31T06:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:00:18","slug":"for-the-record-patience-kamau-02-ma-17-says-emu-changed-the-trajectory-of-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/for-the-record-patience-kamau-02-ma-17-says-emu-changed-the-trajectory-of-her-life\/","title":{"rendered":"For the record: Patience Kamau \u201902, MA \u201917 says EMU changed the trajectory of her life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This profile is the sixth and final story about students and alumni leading up to the 10th annual LovEMU Giving Day on April 1. For more information about the day and how to donate, visit love.emu.edu<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patience Kamau \u201902, MA \u201917 (conflict transformation)<\/strong>, stands outside the post office in Nyahururu, central Kenya, and holds a letter. Its mailing address is written to her in blue ink, while the return address lists an \u201cEastern Mennonite University\u201d in Harrisonburg, Virginia, of the United States. The high school senior tears open the envelope and starts reading. The letter inside tells her that 50% of her tuition costs at EMU will be covered through the university\u2019s International Grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though that moment occurred nearly three decades ago, Kamau remembers it like it was yesterday. \u201cThat was among the greatest blessings I ever received,\u201d she said, looking back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She didn\u2019t know much about the U.S. at the time, and even less about EMU, but her decision to cross an ocean and enroll at the university would forever shape her future. \u201cIt was very clear it was shifting the trajectory of my life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Soon after receiving that first letter, she received another from EMU with an invitation. \u201cBring an open heart,\u201d Kamau recalled reading, \u201cbecause here you will make friendships and relationships that you will maintain for the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that was true,\u201d she said. \u201cMany of the relationships I formed at EMU remain meaningful in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She admitted that she didn\u2019t choose EMU; her father chose it for her. He had heard through family friends about \u201ca little college in Harrisonburg\u201d with a strong pre-med program<\/a>. \u201cHe started looking into it, reading and studying it, and he liked it,\u201d Kamau said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She arrived as a pre-med major in the fall of 1998. Her parents were physicians, and they encouraged her to follow in their footsteps. Kamau enjoyed biology classes during her first year at EMU, but once she started taking organic chemistry her sophomore year, she realized it was not for her. She quickly switched majors to computer information systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She became close with the handful of other international students on campus and got involved with the university\u2019s multicultural and international programs, where she came under the wing of Delores \u201cDelo\u201d Blough \u201980<\/strong>, former director of international student and scholar services. \u201cDelo was a huge part of making all of us feel at home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating in 2002, Kamau worked in a variety of campus departments, including the alumni and parent relations office, the seminary, and the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness. She eventually landed a position at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding<\/a>, serving as assistant to the executive director while a student at CJP. As a perk of her job, she said, she could take eight credit hours a year at no charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six years ago, as chair of CJP\u2019s 25th anniversary committee, she began producing a series of Peacebuilder podcast episodes<\/a> featuring the program\u2019s faculty and staff to capture CJP\u2019s oral history. According to an EMU News article<\/a> from 2022, the podcast had logged more than 11,500 listeners in 119 countries and territories around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2022, Kamau has served as program director for Bioneers Learning<\/a>. The online course and connection platform offers activists, innovators, and others seeking knowledge and tools a space to \u201cmanifest solutions for people and planet,\u201d according to its website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamau said she categorizes her life as \u201c100% lucky.\u201d Half of that luck comes from the random happenstances she had nothing to do with. The other 50% is the kind of serendipitous luck when \u201cpreparation meets opportunity,\u201d she said, borrowing a favorite phrase from Oprah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou try and live a certain way and prepare, and then when the opportunity arises, you hopefully take advantage of it,\u201d she said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have been more grateful to have ended up at EMU as a young adult who didn\u2019t fully know who I was or what I wanted from life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your support helps students pursue a quality college education without financial barriers. Join us for the 10th annual LovEMU Giving Day and contribute to the scholarships that empower future EMU students. On April 1, let\u2019s show that our generosity knows no bounds\u2026for the record!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This profile is the sixth and final story about students and alumni leading up to the 10th annual LovEMU Giving Day on April 1. For more information about ... read more about For the record: Patience Kamau \u201902, MA \u201917 says EMU changed the trajectory of her life<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":60999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,5583,12503,13808,17562,264,5730],"tags":[17236,17868,13745,18831,5990,6041,17869,18829,18068,17737,10187,17841],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-60998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-community","category-cjp","category-computer-science","category-digest","category-graduate-programs","category-undergraduate-programs","tag-cjp","tag-cjp-2","tag-conflict-transformation","tag-for-the-record","tag-international-students","tag-kenya","tag-lovemu","tag-lovemu-2026","tag-lovemu-giving-day","tag-patience-kamau","tag-peacebuilder","tag-scholarships","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nFor the record: Patience Kamau \u201902, MA \u201917 says EMU changed the trajectory of her life - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/for-the-record-patience-kamau-02-ma-17-says-emu-changed-the-trajectory-of-her-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For the record: Patience Kamau \u201902, MA \u201917 says EMU changed the trajectory of her life - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Editor\u2019s Note: This profile is the sixth and final story about students and alumni leading up to the 10th annual LovEMU Giving Day on April 1. 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