Victor Kamanga

Engineering

I love tinkering with things

I was born and raised in a small town called Mzuzu in Malawi. My early days defined the individual I am today. I went to boarding school at an early age. It was challenging, but extremely pivotal in moulding me as an individual. There was hazing and bullying. Home was a long ways out; nowhere to run. We had to manage our school supplies to keep us going till the end of the quarter, and on top of that we had to keep good grades in class. Through it all, I really learned how to thrive and survive.

After secondary school, I was set to go study Business Administration and Accounting at the University of Malawi - easy route to making a good living in Malawi. But that was not my passion. I loved tinkering with things. Physics fascinated me. Mathematics fascinated me. Planes fascinated me! I so badly wanted to study avionics and aeronautics, and universities in Malawi did not offer that.

I caught wind of a program that would help me apply to colleges in the US. Lifeline! I embraced it with both hands, and worked hard at it!

One semester into my college studies, I learned Aeronautics and Astronautics might not be my best option - the perils of not being a US citizen. That was soul crashing. It was hard to take, but I had to pivot. EECS was my next choice; a strategic choice: EECS gave me the opportunity to tinker with and build things, while at the same time giving me a good chance of getting the industry experience I'd need… the experience I’d need to give back to where I started.

Years have passed, I continue to be a student of engineering; I continue to be a tinkerer; I continue to be a builder. And deep inside, the desire to give back to where I started continues to burn…