From Botswana to Lowell: Civil Engineering Student Finds His Way

Masuzyo Mhango has always been curious about how things like electricity work and how buildings are built. That curiosity led him to study civil engineering at Middlesex Community College.

“I chose engineering, even though it seemed like a lot of work. But I knew it would be worthwhile in the long run,” he said.

Mhango, 23, of Lowell, is planning to graduate from MCC’s Engineering Science Transfer Civil/Environmental degree program in spring 2019. He then hopes to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UMass Lowell.

His path to success twisted and turned from Botswana to Lowell – with stops in Billerica and Texas.

Mhango was 4 years old when he and his younger brother arrived the United States. They joined their mother, who had settled in Billerica three months earlier. She found a job and then sponsored the rest of the family to come to the U.S.

“We moved to the United States because my father was ill,” explained Mhango. “He had cancer, was misdiagnosed in Africa and was hoping to get better treatment in America.

“By the time all the papers were filed and the rest of my family had gotten their visas, the cancer had progressed very far,” he continued. “However, it didn’t really matter because my father was happy to have made it to America – and was happy his children got to experience life here.”

Mhango remembers landing in Boston. It was cold, but he loved it! “Snow was awesome,” he said. “I would dress in all my snow gear and burrow through it like a gopher.”

Before enrolling at Middlesex, Mhango attended UMass Boston, but it wasn’t a good fit. So, he took a gap year and headed to Texas and worked building trails in state parks for the Texas Conservation Corps.

He was part of AmeriCorps’ Corporation for National Community Service, a program that had previously taken him to Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, South Dakota and Wisconsin for a year after high school.

After he saved up some money, he headed back to Massachusetts and found the right fit at MCC. “The atmosphere at Middlesex is very welcoming. Everyone is diverse and a lot is happening every day on the Lowell campus,” he said. “And Bedford has a great campus – I often walk on the Fitness Trail through the woods there.”

Mhango likes to keep busy, having hiked 12 of the 48 4,000-foot mountains in New Hampshire. He also teaches teens about conservation-trail building through the Appalachian Mountain Club.

In addition to taking five or six classes a semester, he’s on the Dean’s List and works as a peer tutor. “Through tutoring, I have become a better student. I feel I am helping people like me, who may struggle at first, but are determined,” said Mhango.

To learn more about MCC’s Engineering Programs, contact Professor Michele Stein at steinm@middlesex.mass.edu or 781-280-3932, or call 1-800-818-3434.

Middlesex Community College is your pathway to success. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in the state, we educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners. MCC offers more than 70 degree and certificate programs, plus hundreds of noncredit courses, on our campuses in Bedford and Lowell, as well as online. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!