63-Year-Old Sotik Grandmother Tops ICT Class at Kaplong

In a world that often equates digital literacy with youth, 63-year-old Monica Chepkorir is quietly rewriting the rules.

Hailing from the quiet rural community of Kamureito Village in Sotik Sub-County, Chepkorir stood shoulder-to-shoulder with classmates decades her junior as she graduated from Kaplong Vocational Training Centre.

Not only did she complete her studies in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), but she emerged as a First-Class trainee—proving that the hunger for knowledge knows no age.

For Chepkorir, stepping into a computer lab at an age when many of her peers are settling into retirement was less about chasing a new career and more about refusing to be left behind in a rapidly digitizing world.

Beaming with hope, she declared that she was not done yet adding she has set her eyes on higher levels in ICT.

"My success today has challenged me to aim highet and I think, I am not done. I will still try out higher levels," told this writer.

Chepkorir also reveal that the evolving technology and AI inventions and its use challenged her to go back to class.

Monica who has defied odds to emerge top in OCT

At first, she says she was fascinated with knowing to use a smart phone and choose to try out an ICT course and turned ouy a bigger milestone.

"My kids challenged me on use of a smart phone and the AI aspect whichbjas taken over everything and I opted to go to class and I could not believe that I grasped a lot and emerged the best," she added.

While younger students instinctively navigated keyboards and software, she brought something equally powerful to the classroom: decades of life discipline, patience, and an unshakeable determination to master every module.

Her journey through the corridors of Kaplong Vocational Training Centre has quickly turned her into a local beacon of inspiration.

asked the experience learning ICT at her age, She revealed that she found everything easy.

"As you all know, where is will there is away and that is what made my time in class soo smoth," she said

Lecturers and fellow graduands alike point to her resilience as a defining highlight of this year’s cohort, noting how her quiet persistence transformed initial curiosity into top-tier academic excellence.

In rural communities where adult education and technical training are often viewed as the exclusive domain of school leavers, Chepkorir’s milestone sends a resonant message across Bomet County and beyond.

Monica receives her award during the gradiation ceremony.

As she steps out of the graduation square with her First-Class distinction in hand, Monica Chepkorir leaves behind a simple, enduring lesson for anyone who has ever hesitated to start over—it is never too late to learn, grow, and claim a new dream.