Graduate credits training, alumni network, for success
Graduate credits training, alumni network, for success
Feb. 25, 2004
A UMNS Report By Andra Stevens*
UMNS photo by Andra Stevens
Edwin
Ngonyamo, a 1994 graduate of United Methodist-related Africa
University, works with poultry and egg producers from across Africa.
Edwin
Ngonyamo, a 1994 graduate of United Methodist-related Africa
University, works with poultry and egg producers from across Africa.
�The secret of my success is my background,� he says. �I work with
Africans, and I�m able to understand, fit in and thrive across this
continent because of my experiences at the university.� A . Photo number
04-082, Accompanies UMNS #074, 2/25/04
Working
at his desk in an office complex in Harare, Zimbabwe, Edwin Ngonyamo
looks like a typical manager. Get him talking poultry and it's a
different story altogether. He loves his work and credits Africa
University with making him good at it.
"The
secret of my success is my background," he says. "I work with Africans,
and I'm able to understand, fit in and thrive across this continent
because of my experiences at the university."
Ngonyamo
enrolled in Africa University's pioneer class in 1992. His love for
animal science began with exposure to lecturers such as Fanuel Tagwira,
Athanasius Mphuru and the late Ben Manyuchi, whom he claims as mentors.
After graduating in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in
agriculture, he worked on a project marketing small-scale poultry
production to rural people. He found his niche, he says.
Today,
Ngonyamo is a technical services manager at Irvine's, a company that
markets products and services to poultry and egg producers. He's
responsible for finding and nurturing new business in east, west and
central Africa.
"I'm
working in Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda,
Nigeria, Ghana, Angola. … Everywhere I go, I call on classmates and a
growing network of Africa University alumni," he says. "They help me
with market information, contacts, and some are actually potential
customers and partners."
As
he seeks out new business, Ngonyamo also looks for opportunities for
his alma mater. He's already put in place a graduation prize for the top
performer in animal science. Irvine's takes students as interns and
recruits actively on campus, and now Ngonyamo is pitching a partnership
between Irvine's and Africa University to train middle managers for the
enterprises he's helping set up in various countries.
The skills gap is apparent, he says, and there's great recruitment potential for Africa University.
*Stevens
is a communications consultant and former director of information at
Africa University. This article was adapted from a story that appeared
in Africa University Today, a newsletter jointly produced by the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry and United Methodist
Communications.
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