Volume 11, Number 4, 2003
After three years of hard work, dedication and exposure to a brand-new culture, Keorapetse Maidi and Kereng Mphoyakgosi will receive bachelor of science degrees in medical technology this spring and return to their homes in Botswana, in southern Africa.
Maidi and Mphoyakgosi, both in their early 30s, are the first students from Botswana to graduate from the Department of Medical Technology in the College of Health and Nursing Sciences. They say they plan to return to their previous jobs at medical labs in their home country, taking the knowledge and experience they received at UD with them to enhance their work and share with their colleagues.
Maidi and Mphoyakgosi met each other during a three-year college program at the Institute of Health Services in Botswana. Both were granted a government scholarship through the Academy for Educational Development--an independent, nonprofit organization that focuses on health, education and youth development in the United States and internationally--to further their undergraduate studies. After researching the various medical technology programs offered in universities across the United States, both chose to attend UD.
Deborah Costa, instructor in medical technology and coordinator of students' clinical practicums, says she has known Maidi and Mphoyakgosi since they arrived at DelaWorld, UD's new-student orientation sessions, three years ago. Costa says that, although both students proved to be academically strong and committed to studying, the new environment and culture were an adjustment, especially for Maidi.
"She was so quiet. Kereng was really the spokesperson, but that's not true anymore," Costa says. "She's become very Americanized and is quick to speak up more."
Maidi says she was first inspired to study science at a junior high school career fair, when she enjoyed watching a video of students practicing and learning pharmacology, physics and chemistry in laboratories. Since enrolling in the CHNS medical technology program, she says she has felt most at home when working in the microbiology labs.
After returning to her country, Maidi says she hopes to work in the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute in order to study diseases and molecular diagnosis and to test trial drugs for immunization.
Her most difficult obstacle in attending UD, she says, was parting with her family and coping with the immense distance separating them. "Most of the problem was being homesick," she says. "You always try your best, but sometimes you call home and something is wrong and you are disturbed for the whole week."
Professors in the medical technology department frequently showed her kindness and understanding, according to Maidi. She says Mary Beth Miele, associate professor of medical technology, often gave her tokens of encouragement, such as a note reading, "I know you can do it."
Mphoyakgosi says he has enjoyed studying chemistry at UD and plans to specialize in that field. Originally planning to become an accountant, he says he changed his career goal after recognizing where his passions lay.
"My love was medicine," he says. "I used to dream of being a doctor."
Mphoyakgosi has a full slate of plans after returning to Botswana, including getting married and moving into a new home. He says he will continue working in a government-run lab as a medical technologist and hopes to help diagnose diseases.
Both students say their classes at UD have been challenging and that they appreciate the memorable experience and the help professors have offered them along the way.
"Med tech is tough, but we have good professors," Mphoyakgosi says. "They make it easier."
Students in the Department of Medical Technology spend their first two years gaining knowledge of basic sciences and liberal arts. The third and fourth years expose them to professional and clinical practicum experiences.
Maidi and Mphoyakgosi have worked in hospital laboratories since January and will continue the routine until Commencement in May. Each began a practicum in Christiana Hospital and, like other seniors in the department, they rotate to a new hospital in the region every five weeks. The students work eight-hour days, Monday through Friday, and learn different disciplines at each location.
"It's like a real-life experience," Maidi says.
Even with the valuable education and experience they've had here, Costa says Maidi and Mphoyakgosi are eager to rejoin their families.
"They have left their families to come and do this--not just for a few months, but for years," she says. "They are looking forward to getting back."
--Melissa Berman, AS 2004