Nick Ogada, the reigning Mr University Kenya was crowned in June 2021. The 25 year old fourth year student at Jomo Kenyatta University is set to graduate in June 2022. Nick, a professional model and fitness trainer started bodybuilding in 2016 when he joined Campus. His journey on the catwalk was birthed when he was a second year student when his friend tagged him along to watch a beauty contest.

"I remember the girls cheering wildly as the dudes cat-walked," he says. A bodybuilder, Nick knew he had a better body than most of the guys he saw on stage but when a close friend asked him to contest, he decided to give it a pass and shelved it for future.

"In 2019, I saw a poster announcing the next auditions and I decided it was now or never," he says. He attended the auditions and the top contenders attended a two-month training. "I won the Mr JKUAT title, which was a defining moment for me," says Nick. "Later, I remember the former Mr JKUAT encouraging me to contest for the Mr University title and I thought why not?"

The competition started in April 2021 and the assignments were given virtually due to the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic. The contestants were placed in virtual groups where they were tested on various virtues including personality, character, punctuality, discipline among others.

"It was an intense programme that involved the judges testing us on various creativity activities," says Nick. "They were keen on confidence, smile, the way we walked on the catwalk and also took us through a Question and Answer session," he explains. 

"We were expected to be creative and come up with a creative gear. We also had to showcase dinner attires," says Nick. "I was happy to beat the other male contestants to clinch the Mr University title. And we were crowned in June 2021 in a beautiful ceremony."

"Having seen the youth around our campus in Juja environs waste themselves on drugs, one of the projects I'm working on in partnership with Mr JKUAT 2017, first runner up is reaching out to them through peer-to-peer confidential support groups," he explains. "A lot of students indulge in alcohol and weed," he notes.

Nick is also keen on engaging the youth on HIV and sexuality. "I advocate for the use of condoms and if one cannot, then they should abstain from sex," he advises. He also talks to the youth about the dangers of emergency contraceptives, whose use is quite high among his peers.

In future, Nick would like to own a gym and a modelling agency.