Elphas Kimutai
Chuchuniat, Kenya
Class Of: 2013

Campus: Old Westbury
Major: Nursing, B.S.

After winning an athletic scholarship to attend NYIT, nursing student Elphas Kimutai arrived in New York thanks to fundraising for a plane ticket by his neighbors in Kenya. He says he is the first resident of his village, Chuchuniat, to go to university. He is also the 2010 ECC Male Runner of the Year.

Elphas is working hard to give back to his hometown by planning a community health center. His drive is motivated by a family tragedy— his younger brother died of a heart malfunction because the nearest clinic was too far away.

Elphas has rallied support for his project from NYIT faculty members and others.

“They sent me here to have medical knowledge,” he says, “and they have a lot of hope in me.”