From a mining town in Botswana to McMaster’s Convocation

The most exciting part for Thabo Molotlhanyi was stepping on to a Canada-bound plane and leaving his native Botswana for the first time.

Arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport in the summer of 2011 and heading to McMaster University in Hamilton where he’d be spending the next four years as a chemical engineering student came a close second.

“I’ve always wanted to leave the country since I was so young and it was finally happening,” says Molotlhanyi, a 26-year-old who is graduating this week.

“It seemed so surreal. It was unbelievable. Then I landed in Canada and it was like ‘OK, this is Canada, let’s see what Canada has for me.’”

That’s when the real journey for Molotlhanyi began.

He had grown up in a small mining town called Selebi-Phikwe in Botswana, the second child in a middle class family where everyone knew his name.

The inspiration to become an engineer came from a talent in science coupled with strong mentors who were in the field or studying to become an engineer.

The goal to study in Canada struck Molotlhanyi when he was 14 years old. He doesn’t really know why he set his sights on Canada. Maybe it was his a former classmate who led the way by pursuing an engineering degree at McMaster. Perhaps it was all the engineers he saw on TV who had studied abroad.

After spending a few years studying at the University of Botswana, Molotlhanyi learned he qualified for a government grant to study abroad through the World University Service of Canada (WUSC), a non-profit organization in international development.

Transitioning to life in Canada and at McMaster was rewarding and, at times, difficult, Molotlhanyi says. The engineering curriculum was tough. He had family friends close by in Oakville. But his main support system – his immediate family and close friends – were thousands of kilometres away. Molotlhanyi hasn’t seen any of them since leaving four years ago.

Still, Molotlhanyi says those challenges helped him grow.

“For me, it was more about making the transition to an adult. You come to this realization that you’re no longer a mama’s boy anyway. You’ve chosen this path and you have to stick to it no matter what. There’s a lot of personal growth and also having to deal with a new culture. Canada, on its own, is quite diverse when it comes to culture. Having to deal with that strengthens you as a person.”

Molotlhanyi says what he’s looking forward to most after convocation is returning to Botswana and seeing his family and friends. He says he plans on giving back to his community after graduation by mentoring and offering financial assistance to underprivileged young people in his old high school through an organization he has co-founded.

While he plans on working in his home community in the near future, Molotlhanyi says he’s not sure what his life will be like long-term.

“One thing I’m known for in my family is I’m not the kind of guy who sits in one place. I’m quite adventurous.”