Stellenbosch bouncer completing Masters in Engineering - Profile about a man leading a double life
Stellenbosch - Mutondo ‘Paul’ Matenda leads a double life of Master’s Student and tutor by day, and Bohemia bouncer by night. While many know him as ‘Paul the bouncer’ very few people are aware that he is in fact completing his Master’s in Electro-Mechanical Engineering.
Matenda has been in Stellenbosch for three years and has been working as a bouncer throughout. He comes from Lubumbashi, Congo, the oldest of ten.
As the oldest child he is regarded as the breadwinner and that is why he decided to truly stand out and achieve a Master’s in Engineering. “In my country if you fail you stay at the same level and I wanted to reach a higher level,” said Matenda.
Matenda completed his undergraduate degree at Universite De Lubumbashi (UNILU). “In my country, studying Engineering is as big an honour as doing Medicine.” He chose to study Engineering because he loves challenges.
His love for challenges is proven every day when he makes his way to CPUT to work on his thesis and tutor younger engineers, only to return and ‘bounce’ at Bohemia till 03:00. Matenda’s thesis is aimed at sustainability, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa; Development of an energy model in System Modelling Language for future residential building automation applications.
Dr AK Raji, Matenda’s thesis supervisor, says that Matenda’s ability to balance his night bouncer work with his Master’s thesis “can only be captured as unhindered determination to succeed.” His manuscript has been accepted at an international peer-reviewed conference where he will present part of his research Applications of solar air-conditioning assisted systems in sub-Saharan Africa for residential buildings.
South Africa was seen as Matenda’s best option to complete his Master’s and that is why he made the journey from Congo. He was doing three English courses a week to improve his English and meet the challenge of completing his Master’s in a second language.
When he arrived three years ago he was not able to pay for his registration and as a result started his job at Bohemia, where he is known as ‘Paul the bouncer’. However, financing his registration and receiving funds to attend conferences has been a continuous struggle as bursaries are not easily given to foreigners.
Matenda enjoys his job at Bohemia and does not mind the commute. However, his true enjoyment is evident when he proudly shows his first thesis from his undergraduate degree, written in French, next to his current thesis written in English.
Matenda has been in Stellenbosch for three years and has been working as a bouncer throughout. He comes from Lubumbashi, Congo, the oldest of ten.
As the oldest child he is regarded as the breadwinner and that is why he decided to truly stand out and achieve a Master’s in Engineering. “In my country if you fail you stay at the same level and I wanted to reach a higher level,” said Matenda.
Matenda completed his undergraduate degree at Universite De Lubumbashi (UNILU). “In my country, studying Engineering is as big an honour as doing Medicine.” He chose to study Engineering because he loves challenges.
His love for challenges is proven every day when he makes his way to CPUT to work on his thesis and tutor younger engineers, only to return and ‘bounce’ at Bohemia till 03:00. Matenda’s thesis is aimed at sustainability, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa; Development of an energy model in System Modelling Language for future residential building automation applications.
Dr AK Raji, Matenda’s thesis supervisor, says that Matenda’s ability to balance his night bouncer work with his Master’s thesis “can only be captured as unhindered determination to succeed.” His manuscript has been accepted at an international peer-reviewed conference where he will present part of his research Applications of solar air-conditioning assisted systems in sub-Saharan Africa for residential buildings.
South Africa was seen as Matenda’s best option to complete his Master’s and that is why he made the journey from Congo. He was doing three English courses a week to improve his English and meet the challenge of completing his Master’s in a second language.
When he arrived three years ago he was not able to pay for his registration and as a result started his job at Bohemia, where he is known as ‘Paul the bouncer’. However, financing his registration and receiving funds to attend conferences has been a continuous struggle as bursaries are not easily given to foreigners.
Matenda enjoys his job at Bohemia and does not mind the commute. However, his true enjoyment is evident when he proudly shows his first thesis from his undergraduate degree, written in French, next to his current thesis written in English.
very inspiring as it shows that with commitment and courage to succeed the sky is the limit. Paul 's story should motivate people facing challenges.
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ReplyDeleteSo happy that I got to know Paul! He is a such a wise man
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