▶Stella Tiyoy was born on May 5, 1996 in Kakamega County. She lives with a condition known as Spina Bifida.
▶ Her first encounter with basketball was during an exchange programme in the USA in 2012-2013.
▶Stella’s first major international assignment was the 2017 Women's Africa World Championships qualifiers in South Africa.
▶Stella is a student of journalism and media studies from the University of Nairobi.
Ever since she was a child, Stella Cherop Tiyoy dreamed of becoming a news anchor. To date, she fantasises about being on TV presenting news, interacting with people on the ground and getting people’s views. Stella is a final year student at the University of Nairobi pursuing Journalism and Media Studies with a major in Public Relations. Away from academics, Stella is one of the most decorated wheelchair basketball players in Kenya. She learnt the sport during her one-year stay in the United States about 10 years ago.
How did you get into basketball? My journey started while I was in high school. There is this exchange programme called Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) programme where students get the opportunity to go to the US for one year to be exposed to another culture, learn new ways of life and educate Americans about the various African cultures. I did the interviews while I was at Joytown Secondary School in Thika and qualified to take part in the programme in 2012-2013 at Pine Forest High School in North Carolina. Luckily, my host mum (Catherine Royal) also lived with disability. She was confined to a wheelchair.
