“I didn’t know what to expect coming to the U.S., but it’s been good so far, and I was happy to get here in one piece,” he said.

Kamanga originally did not plan to attend Commencement. But, as he reflected on his time earning the degree, he wanted to meet some of the people he had interacted with online.

In Zambia, Kamanga works as a data specialist at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research — an agency that is both similar to, and funded by, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kamanga doesn’t plan on this being his last visit to Atlanta.

“Hopefully in the future I’ll be able to visit here more frequently,” he said.

Kamanga has a passion for computing and statistics, and the Online Master of Science in Analytics program was a perfect combination of the two. He plans to continue pursuing a career in financial or economic analysis.