Michelle Boit is one of the leading Petroleum engineers in Kenya. She is also the founder of the Michelle Boit Mentorship programme that helps boys and girls excel in STEM.
She recently gained attention upon sharing news of a student from her foundation, whom she mentors, attaining admission to Amherst College in the US.
The young Turkana boy, Starlone Naletio Ekuwom and Michelle first crossed paths after he had completed his KCPE exams. He was helpless and needed school fees to join Kapsabet Boys.
At this time, Michelle was working with Tullow Oil, when oil had just been discovered in Kenya. Through the Boit Foundation, Starlone joined Kapsabet and performed well in school up until now when he recently joined Amherst.
Michelle has sponsored and mentored numerous students with high academic potential from various nations in East Africa, Mozambique, the US and the UK. Her living mantra is Proverbs 27:17 bible verse; ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.’
However, little remains public knowledge of Michelle’s rise to such prominence. In this article, we take a look at Michelle’s inspiring story.
Profile
Michelle Boit was born and raised in Tulwet village in Uasin Gishu county. Both her parents were employed at Moi University, with her father a Biochemical Engineering professor and her mother serving as an administrator at the same university.
Growing up, Michelle had always loved science and was always top of her class. She knew that her career choice would be aligned with the field by pursuing a STEM course.
She is an alumnus of Our Lady of Victory Kapnyeberai High. In high school, her passion for sciences really flourished. She decided that she wanted to become an engineer.
Unfortunately, Michelle did not perform to her expectations in KCSE, scoring B’s instead of straight A’s, considered the bare minimum requirement for engineering students.
She enrolled in a Kenyan university for an accounting course, although she found this field did not align with her preferences.
“But deep down I was not passionate about accounting. My father noticed this and decided to take me to the US to pursue my dream,” she says.
Michelle Boit pursued chemical engineering at Texas Tech University, where she graduated with a first-class degree. During her time at the university, the highlight for her was the countless mentorship programs she had established.
She would engage with schools in her town, motivating students to put their best foot forward in academics. Her first stint at work was through an internship at the British Petroleum (BP) Oil and Gas company in Amarillo, Texas.
Here, she was mentored by three individuals who shared their wealth of knowledge and insights on the petroleum industry. All the while, Michelle would still visit learning institutions encouraging students to study Petroleum engineering.
Poor Turkana boy beats odds to join Uhuru’s former college Amherst in US
Oil discovery in Turkana
Kenya first discovered oil deposits in Northern Kenya, Turkana in 2012. After 2 years, Michelle got a job offer to work as the technical lead petroleum engineer for Tullow Oil Exploration Company.
“I wanted to be part of the pilot team involved in the discovery and exploration of oil there. Tullow was also looking for Kenyans with experience and skill in petroleum engineering. I decided to move back home and bring my rich experience in oil and gas to my home country,” she stated in an interview with Africa Renewal.
“I was able to lead the project from beginning to end with success. For me, that was the most challenging and probably the most rewarding project I’ve done so far.”
Michelle worked at the oil project till 2019 when she established her own consultancy firm. Her first contract was with Glencore Oil Company in Chad.
Mentorship
The petroleum engineer launched the Michelle Boit Mentorship program in Kenya, seeking to empower students to reach for the stars and overcome life’s adversities step by step.
Michelle’s mentorship provides networking opportunities and scholarships for needy students. Her main motivation is to help young people cultivate their talents and abilities, just as she was fortunate to have experienced.
“Mentorship was a passion I had all along. For me to be successful, I was mentored. I also wanted to give back to the community as I enjoy talking to the youth and encouraging them,” she said.