They say smiles are contagious but the students I met at Lutisi brought that statement to a new level. I couldn’t help but smile, no one could the entire time I was with them. And Alex, well, he was definitely a hoot…

(Although, disclaimer: Every time I pulled up outside of one of our academies, a smile seemed to permanently implant itself on my face.)

When I first arrived at the Building Tomorrow Academy of Lutisi, P7 teacher Moses (who also serves as Deputy Head Teacher of Lutisi in Jennifer Bunkwaitse’s absence) introduced me to his class. Moses had barely gotten my name out when Alex jumped up out of his seat and said, “Hi, I’m Alex” with a huge grin on his face. His classmates got a kick out of this and erupted in laughter. Moses told the class that I worked for Building Tomorrow and was hoping to talk to a few students…and you can bet that Alex was at the front of the class before he even finished speaking. A few of his classmates volunteered, too and Alex led the way to a shady spot under a tree right outside.

Alex proceeded to tell me that he’s 15 years old and wants to be an engineer. Well, that put another big smile on my face. Though admittedly out of practice for a while, I’m an engineer myself. Growing up, when my sisters were playing with their dolls, I was playing with legos. At any rate, I was eager to learn more and encourage him. Appropriately, Alex’s favorite subject is math and, despite only having been at Lutisi for a year, his math teacher (none other than Moses) attested that he was a very good student. His family, including a younger brother named David, is originally from Entebbe, an area about two hours drive south.

Alex loves to dance and was more than happy to show us some of his moves. Even without his favorite hip hop music, it was easy to see that the boy has rhythm. Next time I’ll be sure to bring my phone and play some music. I’ll spare them my dance moves, though.

-Maggie