This chapter analyses college-level students whose studies were disrupted by counter-COVID-19 protocols in Kenya and Tanzania. Using a political ethnographic account of rural and urban students, we consider the ramifications of the education-related disruptions establishing tangible impacts on everyday livelihoods. The students employed “hustling” as a strategic practice to cope with and manage the compounded precarities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, hustling, especially characterised by digitalisation, diversification, and social engagement, was not just a survival tactic but also an agentic effort that turned precarious circumstances into opportunities for both individual and communal advantage. This study contributes to the broader literature on work politics by offering a novel empirical exploration of how student workers transformed precarious conditions into avenues for social change and personal growth during a global crisis.