At 17 years old, Munyaradzi didn鈥檛 know what to do when he woke up deaf
Most people would call Munyaradzi鈥檚 unexpected hearing loss a tragic event. But he realized there was a greater power because of it.
When Munyaradzi was 17 years old and living in Zimbabwe, he went to bed one night, unsuspecting of anything. The next morning, he woke up deaf. For a few years, many people didn鈥檛 believe him, and by the time doctors did, there was nothing they could do to help. They still never found a medical cause for his hearing loss.
At that point in his life, Munyaradzi didn鈥檛 care much about his actions and made some decisions he later regretted. But losing his hearing helped him find God and a second chance.
鈥淚 believe I lost my hearing because God wanted to save me from myself,鈥� Munyaradzi said. 鈥淸My lifestyle] was quite dangerous for me.鈥�
Meeting the sister missionaries
After accepting he would never hear again, Munyaradzi became depressed. He needed to find a purpose for why this happened.
In 2017, he met two sister missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Munyardzi was intrigued as they taught him about the plan of salvation. He may not have fully understood why he lost his hearing, but Munyaradzi came to feel God had a plan for him.
Learning about God鈥檚 plan gave him hope for the afterlife and taught him that he could retain the knowledge he learned on Earth. He wanted to learn more and eventually accepted the invitation to be baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Finding BYU-Pathway
After being baptized, Munyaradzi was added to a WhatsApp group chat, in which he saw an ad for BYU-Pathway. He and his friends investigated the website and couldn鈥檛 believe how
He said, 鈥淚 said to these guys, if it鈥檚 from the Church, it has to be real."
Munyaradzi decided to apply, knowing online learning would be easier with his hearing loss than in-person learning. He was accepted and later received the
He began sharing about his education with his family and explained that he was paying significantly less than if he attended other universities.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 almost free education,鈥� Munyaradzi said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 let it go. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 getting an education. You don鈥檛 want to be the person who got an opportunity like this and didn鈥檛 take it.鈥�
Help through technology
Munyaradzi is currently studying
Having been deaf for many years now, his goal is to create technology to help those with hearing loss. He wants to help them in ways only he can understand.
鈥淒o not tire鈥�
Munyaradzi is grateful to BYU-Pathway for providing the support and resources so he can pursue 麻豆精品在线播放 despite his hearing loss.
To other students experiencing challenges, he said, 鈥淒o not tire. The work is great.鈥�
What challenges have led to positive challenges in your life and educational journey?