It Takes a Village

Monday, September 16, 2019

Uganda's Jdiobe credits CEAT support for his success at OSU

Muwanika Jdiobe’s first trip out of his native Uganda came in his pursuit of his degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Oklahoma State University.

It would be a long trip, but his life had already been full of arduous challenges.

At 13, Jdiobe found himself taking care of his three younger siblings after their parents died. As the eldest, he became responsible for finding food and paying for school and health care for his family. He would sometimes go hungry to ensure his
siblings’ well-being, he said. But nothing stopped him from staying optimistic.

Or becoming educated. Throughout his high school years, he participated in his school’s science fairs. Being from an area with few supplies, he did not have many tools or resources for his projects — but he still managed to create an alternating
generator to make hydroelectric power.

Jdiobe said he always had a curiosity about airplanes, and his teachers pushed him to learn more. He discovered online that mechanical and aerospace engineers are responsible for making
airplanes.

After doing more research, Jdiobe found that Africa did not offer this type of educational program. He looked at universities around the U.S. and thought OSU offered the best engineering
program with a low cost of tuition.

“Everyone thought I was crazy that I wanted to leave my village and study in America,” Jdiobe said. “I had never even seen an airplane in real life, and that acted as my motivation to come to Stillwater.”

Early Hurdle

Originally, he was sponsored by a community member in Uganda who paid for him to attend OSU. But within his first semester of school, his sponsor unexpectedly died, leaving Jdiobe no way to cover his school, housing or food costs. He was lost and did not know where to go or who to turn to for help.

“I have been the instrumental communication for [Jdiobe] and was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time to help him,” said Regina Henry, coordinator of immigration for OSU International Students and Scholars. “Community members of Stillwater and donors to OSU were generous enough to donate money to him to ensure that he was able to get tuition and finish his schooling.”

Throughout the 43 years that Henry has been in her position, she has seen multiple students forced to return home due to insufficient funds. She said she believes it has been a miracle for Jdiobe to stay at OSU. 

“All of the community is rooting for [Jdiobe] and his family in Uganda,” Henry said. “Members of his church, friends and professors have all been doing whatever they can to help him pursue an education, so he can enjoy his time in the United States.”

Wanting to get as much out of OSU as he could, he became a senator for residential life his first semester. He remained a senator with the OSU Student Government Association all four of his years at OSU. In the 2016-2017 school year, he was selected as the outstanding senator. In the 2017-2018, Jdiobe became the central region ambassador for the National Association of
Engineering Student Councils, which encompasses Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. He served as the secretary general of the African Student Organization at OSU. He also served as a CEAT Student Council member for four years.

Jdiobe worked in Parker Hall’s Living Learning Program as a mentor to CEAT freshmen. By becoming engrossed in the campus community and having constant interaction with CEAT students, faculty and staff, Jdiobe strengthened his relationships and networking at OSU.

Academic Opportunities

Jdiobe’s academic and leadership excellence have won him numerous scholarships. He has been chosen as a Grand Challenges Scholar from 2017 to 2019 and a Wentz Research Scholar during the 2018-2019 school year.

“I have been able to watch [Jdiobe] focus on his research and apply it personally to his community,” said Amanda Williams, Grand Challenges Scholars Program director. “It is fulfilling to watch him utilize what he has learned in the classroom and
put it to use by benefiting his home country of Uganda.”

In the Grand Challenges Scholars Program, Jdiobe has taken advantage of every resource and opportunity available, Williams said, succeeding beyond the program’s expectations, putting others’ needs before his own, she added.

In addition, Jdiobe does research for two professors.

The past four years, he has been working for Dr. Tyler Ley, structural engineering professor, processing samples of concrete for about 20 hoursof research a week.

“Dr. Ley has always offered me work in the research lab,” Jdiobe said. “I was given an amazing opportunity, being led to him and have done my best to exceed his expectations in research.”

He also does research for Dr. Jamey Jacob, mechanical and aerospace engineering professor, academic adviser and Grand Challenges Scholar adviser. There, he has established a platform of scientific studies about unmanned aerial vehicles. The platform is used to collect scientific information for studies and retrieve data from a UAV in the air to water below and vice versa for about five hours a week conducting research for Jacob.

Jdiobe is receiving some funds from research. He keeps a small portion for himself and sends money to his siblings in Uganda for food, education and health care. Since 2015, he has not seen any of his family.

“[Jdiobe] has a growth mindset and if something doesn’t work, he learns from it and goes about it another way,” Williams said. “I have enjoyed seeing what life is like through his eyes.”

OSU staff and faculty have noticed Jdiobe’s work ethic and drive. He is constantly thinking of how he can make a difference and make a change to improve everyone’s quality of life, Henry said. He is living proof that anyone can do anything, she added.

“I believe that I am one of the people who has been able to max out what CEAT has to offer,” Jdiobe said. “I have done research, taken advantage of scholarship and leadership opportunities. Every single thing CEAT has to offer, I have tried to get it. I have one principle: If the worst thing I can get is a ‘no,’ that can’t kill me, and that has pushed me to try everything. I think that CEAT, and OSU at large, have offered me all aspects to benefit from.”

Jdiobe said he has no regrets about coming to OSU, adding that he is grateful to the many people here who contributed to his successes.

“In Africa, we have a saying that it takes a village to raise a child,” Jdiobe said. “And OSU CEAT has been my village to raise me up.”

Next up for Jdiobe: entering graduate school for a master’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

“Despite not seeing my friends and siblings in years, I want to continue to further my education, because it is my dream,” Jdiobe said. “As someone from an impoverished country, I can acknowledge the gap between developed and underdeveloped
countries. I would love to take the challenge and opportunity to take my unique experience and build UAV systems in developing countries to boost their safety against terrorism. I want to develop low-cost drones that would give people intelligence to reduce
terrorism ambushes. Regardless of where I will be, that is one thing I want to accomplish and is the whole reason I want to get my master’s degree.”