Dasha Asienga, a Kenyan lady living in the US, recently graduated with top honors from Amherst College in Massachusetts. After her graduation, she secured a job as a Business Intelligence Engineer at Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle.
Her parents celebrated this achievement with a party. Dasha recalled starting her degree during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview, her jovial parents expressed their pride.
“She graduated summa cum laude, and we had a Thanksgiving for her over the weekend, She is an encouragement to many young Kenyans,” her parents gleefully remarked.
Before starting her role at Amazon, Dasha gained valuable experience as a data science intern at major U.S. companies like Meta and Amazon.
Dasha Asienga is an alumna of Nairobi’s Makini School where she graduated in 2015 as one of the top students. She then joined Kenya High School for Form One before receiving a full scholarship through the Gakio-Walton Scholarship.
This opportunity allowed her to attend Choate Rosemary Hall, a prestigious private boarding school in the U.S., thanks to Makini School.
In her past speech, Dasha revealed that her full scholarship covered annual tuition fees of $70,000, provided $100 monthly pocket money, and included three flights back home for Christmas, Summer, and Spring breaks. She also received an extra ticket for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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While at Choate, Dasha’s teachers recognized her potential and nominated her for several positions, including chemistry and writing tutor.
She was also selected as a leader in conservation and sustainability, and she took on roles as the Christian Fellowship leader and Africana Club leader.
Among a class of nearly 200 students, Dasha Asienga was honoured as the top student. She graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut in 2020 before moving on to Amherst College in the Fall.
“My success story is not an overnight story, it didn’t come easy. I stand here as an example of what one shy, not so privileged, emotional, humble Kenyan girl can tell you that you can achieve through determination, hard work and most importantly, trust in God,” she said while giving a speech at Makini.
During the summer of 2021, Dasha worked at the Ubuntu Academy, helping with a UK-based program called Maths Whizz, which focuses on developing math skills for early learners.
The following summer, she interned at Meta as a Data Science Intern. By summer 2022, she was at Amazon’s Corporate HQ, working as a Business Intelligence Engineer (BIE) intern.
Dasha was elected to Mu Sigma Rho, the American National Honor Society for Statistics, and Sigma Xi, the American Scientific Research Honor Society. She received the Walker Award in Mathematics and Statistics, recognizing her initiative, creativity, perseverance, and achievement.
She is also a recipient of the Bancroft Prize, awarded to a graduating senior for the best oration, considering both composition and delivery for the research thesis.
Additionally, she won first place in Amherst’s 3MT competition, where she explained the significance of her research to a general audience. Here is the video.
Her senior thesis titled Algorithmic Bias, Statistical Notions of Fairness and the Seldonian Framework, showcased her expertise, leading to her graduation with the highest honours, Summa Cum Laude.
At Amherst, Dasha held various leadership roles including President of the Black Christian Ministry on Campus, Teaching Assistant, Statistics Consultant, and Residential Advisor. She stands as an inspiration to Kenyan students studying within and abroad.