Sylvia grew up in rural Kenya, and her zeal to end extreme hunger and poverty started at a young age. She is passionate about food security and has an excellent grasp of the science behind food production and the business practices that result in profit for farmers, having studied for a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a post-graduate course in Business Administration. 

She has been involved in capacity building small-holder farmers in rural Kenya to adopt sustainable practices that make them resilient to climate change, and her efforts have led to improved yields among some households and improved livelihoods. However, despite efforts by many individuals as well as organizations working in Agriculture towards food security, Kenya still grapples with acute food shortages due to unpredictable weather patterns, poor implementation of policies, poor uptake of new Agricultural technologies, declining budgetary allocation to Agriculture, and improper utilization of agricultural resources.

She chose to study the International Agricultural Development course because it takes an interdisciplinary approach to development studies and will enable her to build a perspective on development grounded in the thoughtfulness of the historical, social, and political aspects. She loves that the course focuses on International development but with a bias towards agriculture and is not shy to tackle matters such as culture and gender and how these affect development. 

She hopes that the course will make her more proficient at examining the systems and policies that govern resource control and help her contribute to formulating policy recommendations that will enhance the effectiveness of governance systems, making them more responsive to the needs and priorities of women and youth farmers.