Tycoon media mogul SK Macharia recounts his days as a sweeper – Nairobi News

Royal Media Services (RMS) owner and Chairman Dr SK Macharia has opened up about the tough life he lived as a student in the United States.

Speaking during a prize-giving ceremony at Kahuhia Girls High School on Saturday, the billionaire businessman said he moved to the US in 1962 to study after winning the Kennedy Airlifts Scholarship.

Macharia recounted how for eight years he worked part-time as a sweeper at the giant aircraft manufacturer Boeing in order to raise his college tuition fees.

BACHELORS DEGREE

“When I was in the US, I worked at night and went to school during the day. Do you know a company called Boeing that makes big planes in Seattle? I swept their floors for eight years,” said Macharia.

Macharia first enrolled in Seattle Technical College before taking a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at Seattle Pacific University two years later.

He later graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Washington.

“I paid my school fees by working at night and going to school during the day, so there’s nothing that you cannot achieve,” Macharia told the students during the event.

HARD WORK

He also urged the students to work hard and not to fear anything explaining that he did not excel in high school.

“You don’t have to be assisted by anybody but if you get assistance, it’s just a small push. It’s all about what you are doing for yourself that will make you a person and you will be proud of yourself,” he said.

Macharia owns Royal Media Services, which operates two TV stations and more than 10 FM stations in Kenya. He also has investments in real estate and in the hospitality industry.