Francesca Manyonyi

19 years old, from Kenya, attending Imperial College London, UK. Francesca was awarded a Beacon Scholarship in June 2022.

Francesca is studying towards a BEng in Materials Science and Engineering. She enjoys all aspects of her course, particularly excelling in her crystallography and coding modules, as well as learning many skills from her laboratory work. A committed student, she is always looking to develop her skills further through independent study and her attendance of the Materials Engineering tutor sessions.

Francesca enjoys a range of co-curricular activities in London; she combines physical fitness with cultural experiences, by regularly attending Pilates sessions, and Afrobeats and Reggaeton dance classes, leading to her performing in the Afro-Caribbean AfroGala showcase. A keen artist, she maintains her artistic interest and skills by doing digital sketches and portraits of friends, as well as some origami.

Francesca gets involved with university life in a several ways: she was elected as the Representative for the Equality, Diversity and Culture Committee, as well as the Magazine Officer and Outreach Ambassador for the Materials Department. In these roles, she led the departmental International Women’s Day events and conducted activities at the Exhibition Road Festival. She also organised a 'confidence' seminar for women and non-binary department members.

Beacon Workshop Participation

Francesca's 2023 Summer Beacon Citizenship Project focused on forest reclamation/reforestation in Kakamega forest.

In Beacon Leadership Workshops, Francesca showed herself to be a confident public speaker with a willingness to participate and engage with her team.