By Irene Best Nyapendi
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Ms. Natasha Alinda who was voted the Most Influential Student. I have interacted with her, and I can attest that she is deserving of the award.”
These were the words of the Rev. Prof. John Mulindwa Kitayimbwa, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at Uganda Christian University, as he announced the name on July 3, 2024, during a commissioning service at the main campus in Mukono.
To get this accolade, Alinda, who was among the 1,160 students who graduated on July 5, defeated four other students who had been nominated. The winner emerged via a student poll on social media platform X. The guidelines were simple: Vote for a final-year student who has exemplified the theme of education at UCU as “A Complete Education for a Complete Person.”
Kitayimbwa described Alinda as someone with “a positive influence who has added vibrancy to the UCU community.”
“She has excelled in academics, sports, social activities, and leadership,” he said.
Alinda, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance degree at the July graduation, thinks she knows why her fellow students gave her 46% of the votes that were cast.
She believes she was voted due to her extensive leadership experience and dedication to service, both within and outside UCU. She has served as the coordinator for Talk to Mama Pesh (a program hosted at UCU by Patience Mushengyezi, the wife of the Vice Chancellor), Vice President of the School of Business, a student leader at the Honors College and a member of the East African Youth Parliament.
Her impact was particularly felt by students while she served as a leader in charge of resident students. She says she personally visited the students every fortnight to check on their well-being, understand their challenges, and suggest solutions. She also communicated with concerned parents who couldn’t reach their children.
She gets the passion for leadership from her love for people – a gift that she believes God has bestowed. Alinda believes that leadership provides the perfect platform to make a positive impact on people’s lives, enabling her to guide and support them in meaningful ways.
According to Alinda, her father, Gad Mugisha, is her biggest believer, always encouraging her to be a good example to others.
Mugisha always emphasizes the importance of leadership, encouraging his daughter to lead by example. He taught her that leadership is an “effective way to reach people and make a difference.”
Mugisha says his father had 13 wives, which was one barrier for Mugisha to attend school himself although he believes in the value of education. . Despite this, he is proud of the person his daughter has become.
“She studied, became born again,” Mugisha said of his daughter. “I’m grateful she listens to my teachings and avoids harmful habits, like drugs.”
According to Mugisha, his daughter has always been a popular student. Finding Alinda during school visits was easy because many of the students knew her.
“She took good care of her belongings and was exceptional in relating with people,” Mugisha said of his daughter who is the third of five siblings.
To people who know Alinda, like Esther Auma, the Most Influential Student accolade was no surprise. Auma, a third-year student pursuing Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering, first met Alinda during campaigns for student leadership at the UCU School of Business.
She said Alinda came across as a confident, cheerful and down-to-earth person.
“Alinda is a lover of people, she always makes it a point to make those around her happy, even when she is going through a tough time herself,” Auma said.
Alinda looks to the future, she hopes to continue using her leadership skills to serve people and make a difference in the world.
