Wanjiru Njoroge, a Kenyan mother, graduated with a Master of Arts in Diplomacy from the University of Nairobi on Friday, September 18, 2026, two years after beginning the programme with a baby barely old enough to sit up on his own.
In a Facebook post that has resonated with many, Wanjiru described the road to her degree as one of the most demanding chapters of her life.
She enrolled in September 2024, when her son was only six months old, and gave herself a firm personal deadline: finish in two years.
I’ve cried, Wanjiru recounts journey
Balancing lectures, assignments and the demands of early motherhood tested her in ways she had not fully anticipated. There were moments of doubt, nights of exhaustion and days when the weight of it all felt too heavy to carry.
“I’ve cried. I’ve doubted myself. I’ve had days when I wondered how I would manage it all. But somehow, I kept going. And I finished before it finished me,” she wrote.
The candour of her words struck a chord because they captured something rarely spoken about openly: the emotional cost of academic ambition for young mothers.
Wanjiru considers furthering her studies
For Wanjiru, the degree was not just a qualification but proof of what is possible when a person refuses to give up on themselves, even when every circumstance argues otherwise.
Despite the relief and joy of completing her master’s degree, Wanjiru has not entirely closed the door on further study. Just a month before graduating, she had vowed never to consider a PhD.
Yet in the same breath as her announcement, she found herself questioning that resolve.
Will Wanjiru commit to PhD?
“Last month, I swore never to enroll for a PhD. But now I’m looking at myself like, ‘But Wanjiru, did you die?'” she wrote, laughing at her own change of heart.
She has not committed to anything yet, leaving the possibility open with characteristic warmth and humour: “Maybe I will. We’ll see…”
For now, she says gratitude best describes where she stands. She started, she persisted, and she crossed the finish line on her own terms.
