My life is a testimony that destiny is not a matter of chance, but one of choice. It is a story that begins in the village of Mutoko, rural Zimbabwe. My educational journey began at Mutoko Primary School before proceeding to Mutoko Government Secondary School. After completing my Zimbabwe Junior Certificate (ZJC), I was expected to proceed to Form Three in 1987, but my parents could no longer afford to fund my education. The school authorities at Mutoko Government Secondary School gave me an offer. They would sponsor my education in exchange for working tending to chickens and the school garden after school.
As a grown man, I reflect on my past and regret the powerful force of adolescent decisions, a teenager with a girlfriend at the same school. The thought that my girlfriend seeing me feeding chickens and working in the garden filled me with a sense of shame. Despite the pleas of my mother and the headmaster, my pride won. I rejected the school’s offer.
In 1988, at the age of 17, I left Mutoko for Chegutu to stay with my uncle. I had a sealed envelope from my father. The letter had a request for his younger brother to see me through Forms Three and Four. My uncle could not take on the additional load. However, he offered me a place to stay while I looked for employment. This was my abrupt graduation into adulthood at the age of 17.
The next decade of my life was defined by menial and hard labour. I took any job I could find. One memory stands out vividly: I once dug an entire foundation trench of a 12-roomed house alone. This period was a physical and emotional torment.
In 1997, I trained and worked as a security guard. I remained in this role from 1997 until December 2003. In the year 2000, a full 13 years after writing my ZJC examinations, I enrolled on correspondence with the Central African Correspondence College (CACC) for my Ordinary Level subjects, working as a security guard at night and studying by correspondence during the day.
On 4 January 2004 got a job as a Library Door Guard at the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT). In March 2004, I enrolled for a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), balancing my work as a Library Door Guard with my studies. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in November 2007 and immediately enrolled for a one-year Special Honours Degree in Psychology and graduated in December 2008.
In January 2007 I was promoted to a Transport Officer in the Works and Estates Department, and in 2011, I was transferred to the School of Art and Design as an Administrative Assistant. In 2012 I was then transferred to the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Sciences in the same role. In 2014, I enrolled on a two-year Master of Business Administration (MBA) and graduated in September 2016.In February 2019, I became the Acting Assistant Registrar at the Graduate Business School, a position I was confirmed in 2022. On the 12th of March 2025, he was promoted to Senior Assistant Registrar, a position I hold today.
In July 2023 I enrolled for a PhD at Chinhoyi University of Technology, and I graduated on 19 August 2026. Title of thesis “An Ubuntu-Based Ethical Leadership Policy Framework for corruption mitigation and performance improvement in Zimbabwean Urban Councils”.
Looking back, I see my life as a series of episodes, each episode being a lesson. From a boy who refused to feed chickens to a man with a PhD. I can conclude that our destiny is not predestined or preordained; we shape and work for our destiny and future. My greatest regret comes from rejecting a school’s offer because of a girlfriend. My willingness to work as a security guard and study by correspondence shows that it is not about the job you do, but the person you are becoming while doing it. The shame I feared as a teenager is nothing compared to the pride I now feel as a PhD holder, a pride earned through perseverance.
My career journey was a slow, steady climb: one certificate, one degree, one promotion at a time. Grand achievements are rarely the result of one giant leap, but of many small, determined steps.
The pursuit of a PhD was not merely an academic exercise; it was a transformative experience which tested my being and reshaped who I am. The skills gained extend far beyond the ability to conduct research or write a thesis; they are life skills that have changed my worldview. My thesis on Ubuntu ethics and leadership is a philosophy centred on humanity, connectedness, collective responsibility and empathy. The research forced me to look at the world, and the people in it, with an open mind. I now see the other not as a subject, but as a fellow human being with a story as complex as my own.
To the young person who feels trapped by a poor decision, to the adult who thinks their chance is gone, to anyone under the weight of “what if, my life is testimony that your past is not your destiny; it is merely an episode.
I was a boy who was too proud to be seen working for his education. But now my story has become living proof and an example that the power to change your story lies not in the past, but in your current efforts and actions.
Your past is not your destiny; it is merely an episode – Dr. Shorai Chitimbe, 2026.