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Philippe graduates with a First after an action packed three years
Philippe Bantsi MongapndamA student from Cameroon is celebrating graduating with a First Class degree in Electronic Engineering after what he describes as 鈥榶ears of hard work, sleepless night and perseverance鈥�.
Philippe Bantsi Mongapndam, 20, not only worked hard in his degree, but also had two part-time jobs and was heavily involved with a number of Students鈥� Union initiatives, clubs and societies.
Philippe said, 鈥淒ue to visa issues and because I transferred from another course, I actually started my degree about one and a half months after term began so had to catch up with all module鈥檚 course work, which was challenging. However, thanks to the friendly and helpful lecturers I had additional catch-up classes and extended deadlines.
鈥淒uring my degree I was fortunate to work on many projects and programmes where met some wonderful people, did things I couldn鈥檛 have dreamt of and developed skills which contributed to my personal development.鈥�
鈥淎cademically the main highlight was working on my final year dissertation with my supervisor. It is one of the biggest piece of work I ever delivered. The start was difficult as I needed to carry out a research and investigations, but thanks to my supervisor鈥檚 friendly approach and openness our partnership developed over time and I was able to achieve a good result.鈥�
He added, 鈥淲orking while studying was a necessity for me so as to reduce the burden on my parents鈥� shoulders, so I had to be efficient and find the right balance between working and studying so as not to affect my degree.鈥�
Over the past three years, Philippe has managed to balance his studies, two jobs and a variety of extra-curricular activities. He was a member of the Afro-Caribbean society, Makerspace society, Stage Crew society and the Gaelic football club; as well as taking on a host of other challenges and roles.
鈥淲hilst at Bangor I have done so many things I honestly had never imagined doing. I volunteered with a project where I coached children in sport, I took part in the competitions such as the Culture Challenge and Enterprise by Design and I was the Campus Sport officer for the Athletic Union executive committee.
鈥淚 was also a football activator working in developing football across campus, and having attended a course run by the Football Association of Wales I鈥檓 now an FAW Football Leader.鈥�
Next year is likely to be just as action packed for Philippe as he will be staying in Bangor to study a Master鈥檚 degree in Electronic Engineering. He also plans to take on the role of Campus Life Co-ordinator which involves helping to run a programme of activities for the thousands of students living in the University鈥檚 halls of residence.
Publication date: 14 July 2016