Julia Muhumuza, a student who pursued a bachelor’s Degree in International Business at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) was last week named the overall best student at the ongoing 72nd graduation ceremony of Makerere University.
She was announced on Wednesday last week through the university’s social media platform; Twitter as they congratulated her upon her outstanding performance. Muhumuza got a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.91 out of 5.0.
During her second year at Makerere, Muhumuza contested for guild presidency where she became third in the race of four candidates before she was appointed the Guild minister for Gender at MUBS. She is also the vice president of Uganda National Students Association (UNSA).
Speaking to The Observer on why she offered the course, she says that the diversity of the course was limited in nature because it appreciates our economy and basic business principles and then spreads on to give insights on major economies and emerging markets.
“The course alone involves business in emerging markets, international accounting principles, multinational business finance and international marketing principles, cross cultural management, international business negotiations and international business strategy, among others,” Muhumuza says.
She also adds that it gives in-depth knowledge on how companies are selecting markets and choosing different strategies used in different markets to thrive and, to her, this is exciting and challenging in nature and because in the future, she wants to not only run businesses in different economies but influence economic policies on international bodies; therefore, this knowledge is definitely fundamental.
“International business gives a big room as far as career growth is concerned. One can pursue a career in any economy and can run businesses in different economies. With all this economic integration, businessmen and women must be ready to take advantage of markets within the bloc but also stretch out in markets whose cultures and nature can welcome their products and services or even adapt depending on the market,” she says.
CHALLENGES
Just like any other person, Muhumuza got hard times that sometimes pushed her to the wall and felt like giving up but she never gave up on.
“My biggest problem was balancing school and politics. I was in politics while studying. I was the only female in the Guild presidential race where I came third, served as Guild gender minister, contested for vice president of UNSA where I still serve. I also debated for MUBS as far as Pan-African University Debate Championships.”
Despite all the challenges which included leadership skills which took most of her time, Muhumuza says she knew what exactly she wanted. Resilience and consistency pushed her so much and made her personal efforts especially in the night. But most importantly she had very supportive discussion group mates that even in times where she missed classes because of other responsibilities, they still discussed for her to catch up.
She adds, “Amidst campaigns, leadership responsibilities and debates, I still had a primary objective at MUBS, which is gaining knowledge and excelling. All I can say is I used my time to the maximum which was so draining but I was focused, resilient and I made it.”
According to Muhumuza, she does not fancy white-collar jobs because they are exploitative especially in this country and worse off for graduates. But because she has minimum experience, she is open to gaining skills and hands-on experience just as a foundation.
Muhumuza now wants to focus on starting her own multinational businesses, which will engage in export, among others. She says her focus right now is building skills and field experience but most importantly to further her studies with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) specializing in Global Business Operations.
As an academician, she hopes to put herself in a position where she will also pass on knowledge to different groups and use her experience and knowledge to write research papers as well.
She urges youth at school to study while working to start up their own businesses and to avoid drugs, which she says kill their productivity and vision.
“They should not be comfortable unless their parents set a foundation for them, maybe. But being in our youthful stage, we can exploit our energies to build visions of tomorrow and use our minds for innovations.”
“I am inspired by young people who are working hard. Young people like Shamim Nambassa, the current Guild president of Makerere University and Kevin Karlo, the former National Unity Platform (NUP) flag bearer for MUBS guild presidency.”
Muhumuza has been on government sponsorship and this comes after she scored 20 points at Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) while at Mengo Senior School.
BRIEF BACKGROUND
Julia Muhumuza is a Born-Again Christian, a self-motivated person defined by ambition and resilience. She is a 22-year-old who has lived her life so far with the intention to serve and make the world a better place.
She was born in Kyazanga, Lwengo district to Frank and Dorah Muhumuza. She is passionate about global business, leadership, academics and debate. She has debated as far as representing Uganda and Africa at large platforms such as the Harvard debates.
She has additionally won many awards including the Balunywa Leadership Awards as Inspirational Student Leader of the Year 2021/2022. She is also a strong advocate for women participation in spaces.
atiluknathan@gmail.com
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