'Nothing comes easy in the US'

She decided that she'd become a lawyer while in Form Two at Limuru Girls High School. Joan Githaiga describes herself as a competitive person, often tasking herself to be better and better. That is how she landed herself a lucrative career as an attorney.
"I’ve never been one of those lucky or gifted individuals for whom success comes easy. I tend to be very competitive but I am my own worst enemy because I compete fiercely with myself, always wanting to outdo myself," she says.

Joan receives her doctorate in law.[PHOTO:COURTESY]

Joan has long basked in academic achievements. She now works for a law firm in Washington DC, Mahoney and Jeffrey, PLLC, Associates, that specialises in representing the employees of the federal government.
She particularly handles employment discrimination claims, disability retirement applications, responding to adverse disciplinary actions, as well as merit systems protection. The highly specialised fields are under the general umbrella of employment and labour law.
Studied hard But the self driven go-getter has not always had it easy. She had to work hard to pay her university fees while undertaking parallel courses in Bachelor of Arts in government and political affairs and Bachelor of Arts in economics at Millersville University, Pennsylvania.
She remembers: "I am fascinated by government affairs, so I got down to it, went to school in the mornings, and to work most afternoons, evenings and weekends. I studied late into the nights too. At times I held two or three odd jobs at a time just to keep up with the tuition fee. I worked throughout the winter and summer breaks."
Joan was rewarded by being placed on the Deans List several times and having her name published in the local newspaper and ultimately graduating with honours, Cum Laude.
So passionate"It is rare to graduate with two bachelors degrees in four years and I am certainly proud of that achievement," she says.
On campus, she was a member of the International Relations Club, the Black Students Union and the Society of Latino Affairs.
She says: "I was so passionate about the International Relations Club, of which I became president. I felt that we needed to learn each other’s different cultures so as to promote understanding. We travelled widely and also had the international week, during which we dedicated each day of the week to a particular continent — showing its films, serving its food, learning its dances and enjoying its fashion."
Ever eager to improve, Joan was not satisfied with her degrees and after a year working at a law school, she was accepted at University of Richmonds, TC Williams School of Law, in Virginia, to pursue her Juris Doctorate Degree.
She confesses that law school was even harder than her undergraduate, but she received her Juris Doctorate Degree in 2008.
Joan says that racism was not a rare occurrence while she was studying. She, however, learnt to surround herself with people who were not hostile, but who would instead nurture and encourage her to be better.
Leadership skills"I have no business interacting with naysayers," states Joan, now married to James Frantz, an American citizen.
At University of Richmond her leadership skills saw her land in the school’s student advisory committee on diversity and dialogue, as well as various law students’ associations. In addition, she was the editor of the law school’s newspaper, Juris Publici.
Joan’s father works for Herbal Garden, an organisation involved in commercial farming of Aloe Vera while her mother works at her green house farm in Ongata Rongai, after retiring as a teaching Nurse. She has two elder sisters Julie Githaiga and Tunu Yeri.
Joan, who loves to pore over novels, says: "My husband and I plan to come back to Kenya to settle. We are not on a very specific timeline but the sooner the better."
Says Joan in closing: "Always follow your dream — it may sound trite but it works. If someone puts you down, whether physically, emotionally or mentally, take a step back, walk in the opposite direction and move on to bigger and better things."