Awuor Onguru

Awuor, from Kenya, was awarded a Beacon Scholarship in June 2015, and was a Beacon Scholar at the International School of Kenya (ISK) for 5 years. She is now attending the University of Oxford, UK, pursuing an MSt in World Literatures in English as an AfOx–Mastercard Foundation Scholar.

During her time as a Beacon Scholar at ISK, she consistently ranked within the top 5% of her class, served as a grade representative (2015–2016, 2018–2019), and was appointed leader of the Simba Chapter of the National Honor Society. She graduated top of her class and received the Huduma Award for dedication to service.

Awuor graduated from Yale University in 2024 with Distinction in the English major (Creative Writing concentration) and an Advanced Language Certificate in French. She was awarded the Charles P. Howland Fellowship for Public Service and the Yale Glee Club Service Through Music Postgraduate Fellowship, which supported her community-based arts education work in Nairobi.
Her community engagement has reached over 300 young people across Kenya through writing mentorship, music instruction, and arts-based learning programs. She designed and led a year-long fellowship at the Art of Music Foundation—training young Nairobi musicians in storytelling, composition, and self-expression—and continues to offer music theory and vocal training to youth in under-resourced areas. She also co-produced a collaborative concert with Yale and the Ghetto Classics Orchestra, one of Kenya’s leading youth music organizations.

At Yale, she served as Opinion Editor of the Yale Daily News and received the Gordon Summer Fellowship for Investigative Journalism. Her writing has been published in Teen Vogue, Cake Zine, Langaa Publications, Menacing Hedge, and Daily Nation, among others.

In 2023, Awuor led the Yale Glee Club on a historic concert tour to Kenya, collaborating with over 100 musicians from local ensembles. She was elected President of the Glee Club—only the second Black woman to hold the role in the group’s 162-year history. She also worked as a Recruitment Coordinator for Yale Admissions and served as Head Peer Liaison for the Office of International Students and Scholars.

She recently wrote and directed Surviving Death, a choral and projection performance that premiered in Nairobi in May 2025 to sold-out audiences of over 400 people across two nights. The show fused African choral traditions with contemporary classical music and was praised for its emotional resonance and curatorial boldness.