UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT HEALTH NETWORK – CVPH, DESKTOP ENGINEER
Home: Tanzania, East Africa Age: 36
Education: BSc in Computer Science, MCSE, MCDBA, MCTS, CCA-V, SUNY Plattsburgh
Community Involvement: Organizing entertainment events (fashion shows, music concerts) that are open to the public.
Golden Mokiwa has called the North Country home since he arrived to study computer science at SUNY Plattsburgh 15 years ago. Today, as a desktop engineer at the local medical center, he is charged with building, implementing and maintaining the computing environment and healthcare software systems and insuring they meet individual and specialty practice demands.
Golden hails from the Zigua tribe in Tanzania. As a boy he wanted to join the shipping business like his father, but his parents had other ideas, and when the time came, they sent him to New York to study. Golden’s courage, tenacity and positive attitude have enabled him to shrink the 7,000 plus miles between his childhood home and his home here in the United States where he lives with his wife who he met while in college.
Golden has a gift for bringing people together as is evidenced by his hobby of making music and offering his entertainment services for events in the community. With all of the bridges built and communities joined, Golden gives no sign of slowing down. As for what the future holds, he smiled and offered, “The sky is the limit and I am nowhere near there yet!”
What are you doing to make a difference in your profession?
Mentoring and transferring knowledge.
What are you doing to make a difference in your community?
I work closely with the younger generation and try inspire them to chase their dreams and be a role model so they can all be productive members of the community.
What is the single most important characteristic for success?
Persistence.
What is your biggest professional success?
Being a desktop engineer with BSc in Computer Science, MCSE, MCDBA, CCA – V, MCTS.
What is your dream job?
Creating and owning a successful humanitarian company.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
By being highly productive at work so I don’t bring it home and focusing on my hobbies when I am off.
What important lesson have you learned in your career?
Stay positive, always keep on trying. Really, seriously, literarily understand nothing comes easy. There are times I face career obstacles or life challenges that seem impossible to overcome, and what I usually do is say a quick prayer and tell myself “You got it Zigua”
What is the most exciting trend happening in the community right now?
Young business minded entrepreneurs trying to start ventures.
What can the North Country do to make this region more appealing to a younger generation?
Embrace, listen, and support them like they were your children. After all, they are living in your household metaphorically speaking. For instance: The North Country has enough academic institutions including SUNY- Plattsburgh which occasionally have events that appeal to the younger generation. I believe by working with these institutions, we will make the region not only more appealing but a humble and amazing place to be.
What is the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
Leaving my family to come to the USA for higher education, and eventually becoming a U.S. resident.
What is something that no one would guess about you?
I wanted to be a master mariner.
Write a note to your younger self…
Hang in there little fella, you got this.