Precious Kirezi
Africa-Press – Rwanda. Being a jack of all trades goes against the common concept that you can’t have it all and the multifaceted people that are bold enough to try anyway are held in high regard, as is the case with Tom Close.
The father of five has deliberately pursued a career in healthcare simultaneously with being a singer-songwriter, and one of the questions that gets thrown his way time and time again is “how do you do it all?” and out of that same curiosity, we asked if we could spend a day in his fast paced life, and here’s a recap of how it went.
The first activity slated for the day was a road trip from Kigali to Kayonza District, and at exactly 9 am on a chilly Thursday morning, we set off for a speaking engagement put together for the young people in Kayonza, by the Ministry of Youth, where Tom had been invited to speak alongside the state minister for youth, institution heads and entrepreneurs to somewhat aid the career guidance process quite a number of young people are navigating.
The road trip doubled as a Q/A session about the various aspects of his life that pique curiosity such as fatherhood, juggling different career paths and navigating a healthy work life balance.
Upon asking him how his day was going so far, he shared that he was looking forward to the road trip and intended to make the most of the day. He also opened up about his reluctance to participate in speaking engagements despite how often he is asked to, which I wondered what distinguished this one from the rest.
Tom pointed out that he’s passionate about the empowerment of young people which prompted his participation in the career guidance discussion we were heading to in Kayonza, an event that had convened high school and university students alike, and quite a number of emerging entrepreneurs.
During the hour and a half, it took to get to Kayonza I asked the singer why he chose multifaceted careers and how he navigates them alongside family life, to which he responded, “If you’re passionate about something and you have the ability to do it, you should.”
He also works from home as often as he can which allows him to spend quality time with his family. Most people wonder how an on-call doctor splits his time between the health care sector and artistry however Tom Close’s role at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre is less hands on/ patient oriented than it has been portrayed to be.
He currently serves as the manager of the Blood Transfusion division at Rwanda Biomedical Center and his role is more administrative than anything which gives him the space and time to pursue other interests such as music, filmmaking and a medical related master’s degree to elevate his role in the healthcare system.
The event featured various emerging entrepreneurs, institution heads and the state minister for the Ministry of Youth who all spoke about the pivotal times in their careers in hopes to encourage and inspire the impressionable young people in the audience to pursue their careers actively and intentionally.
The audience’s reception of the speakers was very welcoming but that paled in comparison to the warm and loud welcome Tom Close received when it was finally his turn to speak.
He acknowledged what an honor it was for him to be there and spoke briefly about the humble beginnings of his career, how he was in university for medical school and simultaneously pursuing music and how he managed his time to accommodate the vast interests he inhabits.
What stood out about what he said is the strong belief he has that there are people who are doing far greater things than he is and the only difference between them and him is that some of what he is doing is a matter of public knowledge.
Tom Close’s speech was proceeded by a Q/A segment with several interesting questions directed at him one of them asking if he could repost their business on his social media pages, and a few bolder ones inquiring whether he would be interested in investing in their businesses.
Charles Ashimwe, a Rwandan entrepreneur, was also featured as a speaker and it just so happened that he runs in the same alumni circles as Tom Close, given that they attended the same schools in the past. We joined him for lunch after the event wound down.
The Imigongo Art Centre founder and Tom Close fondly reminisced on their time as students and compared it to having functioning careers and heading families in the present day, something that seemed unfathomable to the teenage boys whose wildest dreams barely exceeded the confines of how far their school football team would make it.
Ashimwe led us through a tour of the entire Imigongo enterprises which entailed an arts and crafts store, an atelier where the visual art is developed, and a boarding house tailored to host staycations.
The carpool back to Kigali was slightly more interesting than the trip before, and one of the things I couldn’t have seen coming was for the next stop on the way to be a zoom call with Tom Close’s professors to discuss the progression of an ongoing MBA course he is partaking in. The two professors he engaged with that afternoon seemed to be genuinely impressed with his efforts and productivity throughout his studies. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree to elevate his role at the Rwanda Biomedical Center and significantly improve the blood transfusion division he heads.
The rest of the carpool was spent discussing and sampling the creative projects Tom Close is currently working on including an action movie starring Arthur Nkusi, Ruth Bahati and more whose premiere is set to take place sometime in 2024.
Thanks to the movie production, Tom Close has spent a considerable amount of time in the studio developing the soundtrack of the film, giving him a vast opportunity to sample different sounds to be incorporated into the soundtrack but also some tracks he would like to use for his personal catalog. We got to listen to some of the music that has been produced for his upcoming music project and the film’s soundtrack during the road trip back to Kigali All the tunes we listened to have the recurring theme of Afro centricity to them which accentuates their appeal.
Upon arrival to Kigali, Tom Close stopped by the RBC offices in town after which a studio session was scheduled to produce more music for the movie, however the studio session was postponed last minute, allowing for more time in the office.
After a forty-minute detour to the office to get some paperwork filed, Tom Close had the opportunity to get an overdue haircut which he hadn’t had the time to get should the studio session have happened that evening, thereafter, ending the 9-5 day.
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