Lwazi invited teens from a children's home in Johannesburg to his graduation. Photo: Facebook/I Have a Name Source: Facebook
- Lwazi has graduated from Wits with a Postgraduate Diploma in Chemical Engineering
- Lwazi moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa, hoping to increase his chances of finding a job
- He thanked the diverse community that helped him achieve his goals.
Lwazi is a bright young man from Zimbabwe who hustled, working multiple casual jobs to pay for his fees at a university in Harare, finally achieving his goal of obtaining a qualification from Wits. Lwazi thanked the diverse group of people in South Africa who helped him on his journey. Last week, Lwazi graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Chemical Engineering and invited two kids from a children’s home in Johannesburg to the graduation, hoping to inspire them to attend university some day. Last year, Lwazi shared his long and tumultuous journey of trying to find a job in the chemical engineering field with no luck, before opting to take his studies further. Now, Lwazi has graduated from Wits and he is pursuing his Masters while once again searching for a job, Briefly.co.za discovered. Because Lwazi had so much on his plate, he finished his four-year course in five years. Unable to find a job in his field in Zimbabwe, Lwazi took a job at a farm, overseeing an abattoir which slaughtered 21 000 chickens a day.
Determined not to waste the degree that worked hard to achieve, and eager to put his vast knowledge to use, he saved up to go to the UK. Unfortunately, Lwazi’s visa was denied and it was back to square one.
That's when Lwazi decided to come to South Africa. Because of his citizenship, finding a job was difficult. Lwazi decided to speak to universities for advice and contacted Professor Jean Mulopo at Wits. Mulopo suggested that the best move would be for him to specialise in petroleum and complete a postgraduate diploma in Chemical Engineering Oil and Gas. Lwazi handed leaflets out at robots to earn money to convert his qualification and began the next leg in his journey - affording tuition. Lwazi swallowed his pride and handed out his CV at robots in Fourways and soon enrolled at Wits.
Lwazi expressed his appreciation for all the diverse people who assisted him on his climb to success.
“Basically, I can thank the whole world as people are interlinked somewhere and somehow because of the mere fact that every nationality was represented by all people I met at the robots and specifically the small community that directly helped me,” enthused Lwazi.
Lwazi is now pursuing his Masters part-time while hunting for a job in the petroleum or chemical industry.
