She is the girl that co-hosts the Stanbic National Schools Championship ( NSC ) with Brian Mulondo. She has been shining on the NSC stage for about three years now. She is that person they call “life of the party.”

Her name is Dorcas Kiconco from Kigongi, Kabale. She is the second of five children. Dorcas has identified with the championship for the last five years which has fully impacted her life.

“I feel like the NSC has given me the approach to life that I never had at all.” You cannot accuse Dorcas of being soft spoken. Her voice, a mezzo soprano of sorts, tears easily through a quiet room filling it with sprinkles of laughter. She speaks as fast as she moves. Just as fast as her eyes dart around. She is the expressive kind. One for whom every word is action backed.

It all started in S6 in 2018 when she competed in the #StanbicUGChampions. Her school, Bweranyangi Girls Secondary School, was one of the leading contenders in the western region and being on the team, she put out her best foot to win.

“I really wanted my school to win.” She tells me with both hands spread out and frozen on the table. Unfortunately, they did not. But at an individual level, she did.

Unknown to her, the team at Investors Club, the NSC organisers had identified her, Xitima Viola from Muni Girls Arua and Tracy Arinda from Maryhill High School as some of the students to benefit from their internship program.  The internship program was a project extended to outstanding students to establish their hand in the world of work.

“I had to rethink my plans for vac.” She reveals. “Not that I had any but…” The news caught her off guard; she could also not turn it down. During this time, university admissions were in high gear. Uganda Christian University offered her a slot in the Bachelor of Mass Communication class of 2019 which was some pretty exciting news. A fortnight later, a letter traced its address to her via Stanbic Bank where she was announced as one of the pioneer beneficiaries of the scholarship program offered by the bank at UCU.

A conflict of interest

When the time came for school, she still had a running offer to continue with work at Investors Club.  She decided to bite the bullet and pursue school while working a challenge that was worth the effort. See, the lockdown was having the best of time on the world, the university had closed its doors to all physical classes. It migrated online just as did most of the work assignments. For the time she had to travel, she attended class on the go.

“I had to take on the challenge. I had to leave my comfort zone.”

The years passed by pretty fast that she did not feel the weight she had to carry. Thanks to the mentorship by Cathy Adengo at Stanbic Bank under whose mentorship wings she found safe flight.

Dorcas, having completed her undergraduate class where she was a few points shy of being the summa cum laude of her class, is the communications officer at Investors club and the co-host of the National Schools Championship, a role is delighted to be executing.

Challenges

“I can’t be in two places at the same time. I’ve to give my best at everything I do.” She confesses. When she took the scholarship she worked twice as hard to excel as she aptly puts it, “We were the first beneficiaries of the scholarship program. We had to excel to leave a good trail.

Ms. Kiconco believes in seasons. And time. And growth.  “When you leave, you create room for another person to get access to the opportunities you are enjoying.”

Lessons

“Always put your best forward. You do not know who is watching.” That time during the 2018 NSC competitions, that is all she ever did. She did not know she was weaving a story that would forever be the foundation of her life.

The future

As she buds into the bigger working world, Dorcas is confident that there is more for her. Every day she wakes up, she aspires to be better than the previous version of herself. And in so doing, she hopes to create an enabling environment that will enable her to impact as many people as she can.

She looks forward to the day hers will be a household name of event hosts here and beyond. She keeps her fingers crossed waiting with bated breath till that moment comes.