He immigrated from Africa to pursue his educational dreams
North Georgia Technical College recently announced Mechack Nduwa as the 2019 Exceptional Adult Georgia in Literacy Education (EAGLE) winner.
“I had no idea I would be coming to America until a month before I arrived,” says Nduwa. “My uncle applied for a visa for me without me knowing and my future drastically changed.”
Originally from the city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic Congo in Central Africa, Mechack came to the United States to pursue his educational dreams.
“My first and greatest challenge was leaving my family. What followed was a year of many firsts. I had never flown on an airplane before and not being able to speak English made flying alone a challenge,” says Nduwa. “When I was flying to America, my luggage was lost and I had to go to the airport office, but I didn’t understand a word anyone was saying and could only answer them in French. It was then that I decided I needed to learn English, but I didn’t know how I could attend classes. Thankfully someone in my host family said they were going to attend classes at North Georgia Technical College and I could go with them.”
Nduwa has currently passed two of his GED classes and he plans to finish this spring and enroll at NGTC to study electrical technology.
In order to be chosen as the EAGLE student, your name must be submitted by an instructor. Students then complete an interview and one is selected as the winner. The college level winners then move on to compete at the regional level, after which eight compete at state in March. The state winner receives a full two-year paid scholarship to any technical college in Georgia.
“Mechack is going to be a great representative for NGTC at the state EAGLE conference in March,” says Dean of Adult Education Shelby Ward. “He was selected because of his personality and love for the adult education program, but also his appreciation and dedication to pursuing his education.”
