Ruto Joins Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Mandela After Bagging Award In US
The Golden Plate Award was presented by Awards Council members Dr Ben Carson and General Charles Q. Brown, of the United States Air Force (USAF).
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President William Ruto was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement at a Golden Plate Award Ceremony held in Washington DC, USA on Friday, December 16.
The Golden Plate Award was presented by Awards Council members Dr Ben Carson and General Charles Q. Brown, of the United States Air Force (USAF).
President Ruto was cited for his inspiring journey, according to a statement shared by State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed.
With the award, he now joins an illustrious group of achievers such as former US President Barack Obama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the late Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, and Sydney Portier.
President William Ruto posing with the Golden Plate Award on December 16, 2022. /TWITTER.HUSSEIN MOHAMED
Cathy and Wayne Reynolds, Chairman and woman of the Academy celebrated President Ruto for his inspiring journey where he grew from wearing his first pair of shoes at 15 years old through Kenya's murky political space to the State House seat.
“From a village in Kenya, owning his first pair of shoes at the age of 15, rising through politics, studying to the highest level of academic achievement, and inspiring a generation in the art of what is possible, with hard work, faith and determination," Reynolds stated.
Over 30 years of his political career have been wrapped into the ultimate moment for the humble man who rose from selling chicken by the roadside to rising to occupy State House, the highest house in the land.
Ruto joined the University of Nairobi where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Botany and Zoology in 1990. He returned to the same university years later and graduated with a Master of Science degree in 2011 and a PhD in 2018.
He went to primary school barefoot, wearing his first pair of shoes at the age of 15. He also sold chicken and groundnuts by the roadside in rural areas of the Rift Valley.
Before he thrust himself into the political age, President Ruto worked as a teacher for two years before crossing into the murky world of Kenya's politics, and the rest, they say, is history.
He was a co-founder and key member of the infamous Youth for Kanu 1992 (YK92), a lobby group that campaigned for late President Daniel Moi in the 1992 general elections. Earlier, he had met Moi, his political mentor, through his involvement in church activities.
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one another.
It was founded by Brian Blaine Reynolds, an acclaimed photographer best known for his contributions to Life magazine and Sports Illustrated. Reynolds established the Academy of Achievement to bring aspiring young people together with real-life heroes, the kind of achievers he met every week on assignment.
"He discovered that visionaries and pioneers, who often strike us as larger-than-life, are real people who endured setbacks and persevered through everyday challenges, like anyone else.
Oprah Winfrey at a past Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award. /ACADEMY OF ACHIEVEMENT
"The difference is in how they kept their eyes open to new opportunities, and in how they went about achieving their dreams. The Academy’s first annual Banquet of the Golden Plate program was held at Monterey, California in September of 1961," the Academy states on its website.
The Golden Plate Award has been presented since 1961 by the American Academy of Achievement to approximately 25 guests of honour at the International Achievement Summit.
Chosen by the Academy’s Awards Council and other distinguished authorities, these men and women of exceptional accomplishment in the sciences, the professions, business, industry, arts, literature, sports, entertainment, and public service are acclaimed, not as winners, but as visionaries and achievers who represent the many who excel.
