Paul Khat’s graduation in Engineering and Economics is an inspiring triumph over adversity.

Born into conflict in South Sudan, he spent his childhood on the run from danger.

All the while, he remained focused on education, the key to achieving independence, as his family had taught him.

Studying through informal open-air classes, he and his peers had to learn on the run. Children often taught other children, using whatever materials they could find. A series of events, including illness, led Khat across the border to a refugee camp at Kakuma, Kenya.

There, he continued elementary school without interruption or setback, though he did not speak Swahili, the language of instruction in Kenya.  Determined to keep up with the lessons he did not fully understand, Khat learned Swahili at night, and rose to the top of his class, earning one of only a few spots to attend high school, outside the camp.

A painful eye condition made it impossible for him to read for any length of time, and he was forced to leave the school to seek diagnosis and treatment on his own. If he was  unable to find treatment, he knew he would lose his coveted spot in the school.

A kind uncle helped him secure the medicine that let him return to finish high school. Again, he rose to the top of his class, qualifying for support by the World University Service of Canada, which made it possible for him to study at McMaster.

He credits collaboration with his peers and mentors for helping him complete his undergraduate studies, and he is now planning post-graduate work in Engineering.

“Every time I see someone I don’t know, I see a potential friend,” he says.