Ex-Capital FM Journalist Bags Top US Honour & Path To Govt Job With Up To Ksh7.2M Salary

Former Kenyan radio journalist, Teresia (Terry) Nzau, has announced that she will be inducted into Kappa Tau Alpha, an American college honour society that recognises academic excellence and promotes scholarship in journalism and mass communication.

In a message sent to her former industry colleagues and obtained by Viral Tea, Nzau stated that the induction into the national honour society will take place on Friday, May 2.

"Thank you for the support during my Ph.D. journey. I am thrilled to announce that your girl will be inducted into the national honour society this coming Friday," the message read in part.

Kappa Tau Alpha was founded in 1910. Membership is earned through academic achievements and is open to students majoring in journalism or mass communication. The society also presents awards to recognise outstanding students and faculty in the field.

For Nzau's case, selection for the membership represented a mark of the highest distinction and honour (having As in all courses).

"This recognition not only honours my academic success but also meets one of the requirements for entry into the GS-7 level for various professional and technical roles in the U.S. government. We came, we conquered, and all the glory goes to God!" she added.

In the U.S. federal civil service, a GS-7 is the seventh grade in the General Schedule (GS) pay system. This pay grade is used to determine the salaries of most civilian government employees. 

A GS-7 typically has a starting salary of $42,679 (Ksh5.52 million) per year at Step 1, with a potential maximum base pay of $55,486 (Ksh7.2 million) per year at Step 10. Salaries for GS-7 positions can, however, vary based on the location of the job, as locality pay adjusts for the cost of living in more expensive American areas, such as San Francisco, compared to less expensive areas, like Atlanta. 

As of Apr 21, 2025, the average hourly pay for a GS-7 in the United States is $52.91 (Ksh6,838) an hour, according to ZipRecruiter.

Nzau is a Media Relations, Engagement/Corporate Communications specialist, and Media trainer with a wealth of experience in the radio industry in Kenya. On October 11, 2022, she announced on social media that she was leaving Mbaitu FM, a radio station under the Eastern Broadcasting Corporation broadcasting mainly in the Kamba language, having been there for more than 12 years.

Nzau is an accredited journalist with the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) and has over 10 years of experience in broadcast media, specifically, radio.

She worked as a dedicated reporter and deputy News Editor before becoming an Editor for Mbaitu FM, a station she has been at from August 2009 to August 2022. She also worked for Capital Group (Capital FM) as a correspondent for the Lower Eastern region.

She was also a media consultant with several organisations where she trained journalists on election preparedness and coverage. Some of the organisations she provided consultancy work to include: the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), Kenya Editors Guild (KEG), MCK and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

On June 30, 2024, Viral Tea first broke the news that Nzau won the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Public Relations Division's Inez Kaiser Award for 2024, an award that placed her among the top graduate students in the division in America.

"This prestigious honour is beyond my wildest dreams, and I am incredibly grateful for the recognition. Thank you for this amazing award," she told our editor-in-chief, adding, "As a student of colour and a feminist champion, this award truly means the world to me!"