“I’m from Kenya and prior to migrating to New Zealand I worked for over 10 years as a security expert and diplomat in Kenya and the EU. When I moved to New Zealand I wanted a different career so I chose a diploma in civil engineering so I could revisit and build on the knowledge from my first degree in surveying.
My choice to study with MIT was a very practical one. I have 2 young kids and my wife works full-time so I had to juggle study and family. I wanted something convenient to me, a place I could commute to easily. I live in east Auckland, so MIT was very convenient. I also didn’t want to go to a university, I wanted a diploma that gave me hands-on experience, not just theory. Something I could touch and apply. Choosing MIT was a pretty easy choice for me.
MIT is very diverse – you see people there from everywhere in the world. It’s a big advantage as it brings in a wealth of knowledge and experience. They made me very feel welcome, like I was part of MIT regardless of where I was from, it gave me a sense of belonging.
As an immigrant, a spouse, a parent, and a mature student, MIT provided a very conducive space for me to retrain and achieve my career and family goals. The lecturers were very considerate, respectful and engaging. Being a mature student, you often do not have the luxury of time, you’re very driven, you know what you’re looking for and you grab it. I give credit to MIT’s lecturers who gave us extra special attention and support to succeed.
While studying I was also employed as a lab technician at MIT. This gave me extra practical experience and skills to develop further in ways I can’t measure. The kiwi professional life is so different from Kenya, so these experiences helped ease me into New Zealand culture and prepared me for a much larger and faster professional environments. I’m very grateful for that opportunity.
I made the most of my time at MIT, I created and developed relationships with my lecturers, and other personnel, and they helped propel me into the work environment. Some of them were my referees and spoke very highly of me when I applied for jobs.
While I was a student MIT and the School of Engineering brought in a Career Fair with numerous employers in civil engineering. MIT does a brilliant job in connecting us with industry and I managed to secure employment with one of these companies (Watercare) before I graduated.
To mature students – if you are thinking of continuing your education, you should highly consider MIT. It’s such a wonderful space for people like us. I’m now working as a development engineer at Watercare doing very practical things, I’ve been put to very good use.
There’s high demand in this industry, you have to have practical experience, not just the theory. I can tell you for sure, you get that at MIT, you get your hands dirty, and industry looks for people who can roll up their sleeves and get hands-on. The market is looking for grads right now, they can’t get enough of them.”
Nick Oduol Odhiambo
MIT graduate
