From Car Guard to PhD: The Inspiring Story of Dr Tshinangi's Academic Journey

• A young man shared his inspiring story of working as a car guard in Pretoria to becoming a university PhD graduate
• The University of Pretoria graduate expressed how he felt after bagging his doctorate degree
• His journey was not easy, and he shared a few words of encouragement to individuals

From car guard to University PhD graduate

Tshinangi Fabrice Kapya began his academic path in the parking lot and ended up at the University of Pretoria (UP) after getting encouragement from friends while working as a car guard in Pretoria. He bagged a PhD degree in Industrial Engineering during the University of Pretoria’s 2024 Spring Graduation ceremonies in the first week of September.

While speaking to IOL news, Tshinangi expressed the following to the publication:

“I was a car park attendant at Wonderpark Mall in Pretoria a few years ago. Despite the repetitive nature of my work, I discovered an unexpected source of comfort in books.

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“Whenever I had a free moment, I devoted it to reading... My former colleagues would often catch me reading. They'd say with a mix of playfulness and sincerity, 'Fabrice, you don't belong here; you should go back to school'," he added.

Turning obstacles into opportunities

He received his first degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Likasi. A friend convinced him to apply at UP, and he was accepted into the honours degree programme. He kept up his employment as a car guard in 2019 while going to school.

In 2021, after being accepted into the UP master's programme, Tshinangi was offered the chance to work as an assistant lecturer in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Before he earned his master's degree, he enrolled in a doctoral programme.

He shared with the mentioned publication above where his love for the field began by saying:

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"It started with just a simple observation in a parking lot and has grown into a passion for using mathematics to improve the efficiency of flexible production systems. There is beauty in observing how systems and processes work."

Tshinangi's journey was not easy, but he made it through hard work and perseverance. He encouraged individuals not to give up but to keep going.

KwaZulu-Natal woman’s achievement at Oxford University goes viral

Briefly News previously reported that one South African lady beamed with pride as she flexed her achievement for the world to see.

A lady named Theshaya Naidoo shared her latest win and South Africans could not be prouder. Taking to her LinkedIn account, the woman revealed that she recently presented her research at Oxford, the world's top university.

Source: Briefly News