We all want our phones to have a strong signal when we are trying to scroll through memes and videos or more importantly when we need directions to our next destination, and thanks to people like Barton alumnus and mobile phone tower engineer Tinashe Muzenyi we can all have whatever information or entertainment we need at the ready and in high speed.

Muzenyi works for Accenture in Texas and while working in the Wichita area, he recently came back to the Barton campus to reminisce and catch up with individuals that had a positive impact on his life.

“It was a much-needed experience,” he said. “Barton played a very crucial role in shaping me into who I am today.”

Muzenyi is from Zimbabwe and being so far away from home, he found comfort in being able to talk to his advisor Kristin Connell.

“It’s very easy to talk to her,” he said. “I left my whole family back home and then you come to a new environment and a new country, and you don’t know anybody. She was so welcoming and really helped me get settled. She was very instrumental in getting me on the right track, obviously for school, but also just to navigate the different realms of the social life around college. I’m so very grateful for all of that.”

After two years at Barton from 2017-2019, Muzenyi continued his education and earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of North Texas and landed his job shortly after. He said his time at Barton helped prepare him for his four-year school as well as his career.

“Barton is a great place,” he said. “It’s a more intimate setting, and you get to know so many people so much faster than at a four-year. I also had a chance to be an athlete and learning how to juggle all that with my classes helped me. It’s just a great place to start, also I was around various international students as well, so there are a lot of different cultures and it was very instrumental in shaping me into who I am today.”

For a video about Tinashe’s journey, visit https://youtu.be/t2La-eWIQ_I.