Africa University Graduate: David Sibande
David Sibande, Class of 2020
The journey at Africa University has been the best part of my life. I would like to thank Arise Africa and my all my sponsors for the help and support that has been given to me from the time I first got to know Arise until today. I am so grateful for the love and support throughout the years I spent studying at Africa University.
The first time I went to Africa University I was 19 years old, just a teenager with a grade 12 certificate looking forward to achieve greatness through the pursuit of a degree in Computer Information Systems. The 19-year-old David had a lot of expectations about how university life was going to be. I can’t say I was fully wrong or right! One expectation I had was that “university is all about the books”! What I realized is that it’s also about social networking. I never expected that by interacting with classmates and friends, I would develop a strong social-network that could potentially lead to brighter business opportunities.
My first year at AU was all about new discoveries. Myself, Grandson, Natasha, and Joseph were all new to the place and didn’t know any one! Throughout the semester we all started meeting new people and figuring things out and before we knew it, we were already blending in as if we had been there for years! We found other students also from Zambia and bonded and formed a community together. By the time we went back for the second semester it felt like home! We had made friends and were familiar with this new place, but the process of discovering was still going on.
My second year was the time I started to focus my studies on my major. I got to learn and do more with computer’s every day and not once did I ever get tired of doing so. I also started making friends who were studying the same courses and shared the same ideas and interests.
The main focus of my third year was all about my industry internship. This was such an awesome experience! I interned with two different companies, ZESCO, Zambia’s electric company, and Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC). My most memorable experience was when I just started interning at ZESCO and was told to work with the information and communications technology department (ICT) supervisor who took me under his wing and taught me how to conduct myself as an IT personnel. The first thing he told me was to buy a notepad specifically for work. So, from that day on I wrote down everything I was taught on my notepad. He taught me to document everything I did in the sense that if I was to encounter the same problem later, I could easily refer to my notes. This has stuck with me!
My first year at AU was all about new discoveries. Myself, Grandson, Natasha, and Joseph were all new to the place and didn’t know any one! Throughout the semester we all started meeting new people and figuring things out and before we knew it, we were already blending in as if we had been there for years! We found other students also from Zambia and bonded and formed a community together. By the time we went back for the second semester it felt like home! We had made friends and were familiar with this new place, but the process of discovering was still going on.
My second year was the time I started to focus my studies on my major. I got to learn and do more with computer’s every day and not once did I ever get tired of doing so. I also started making friends who were studying the same courses and shared the same ideas and interests.
The main focus of my third year was all about my industry internship. This was such an awesome experience! I interned with two different companies, ZESCO, Zambia’s electric company, and Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC). My most memorable experience was when I just started interning at ZESCO and was told to work with the information and communications technology department (ICT) supervisor who took me under his wing and taught me how to conduct myself as an IT personnel. The first thing he told me was to buy a notepad specifically for work. So, from that day on I wrote down everything I was taught on my notepad. He taught me to document everything I did in the sense that if I was to encounter the same problem later, I could easily refer to my notes. This has stuck with me!
— David Sibande
Africa University, Class of 2020
