Jennifer Muganza (‘24) & Joseph Muganza (‘24)(‘26)
“It feels good to have people around you that support you. I had my brother and sister alongside me, knowing I had somebody to call who can come and help whenever I needed it. That’s always a big deal for international students.”
Jennifer Muganza
Quick Facts
Program: Architecture, BA & Architecture, MArch
Graduation Year: 2024
Hometown: Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo
Joseph Muganza
Quick Facts
Program: Marketing, BS, Business Analytics, MSBA
Graduation Year: 2024, 2026
Hometown: Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo
International Siblings Attend CBU Together
Every year, international students travel across the world to attend California Baptist University. This venture may feel daunting for many, but some are lucky to have siblings alongside them as they take this next step in their education.
Native to the Lubumbashi, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, three Muganza siblings came to the United States in staggered arrivals. Jennifer Muganza (‘24) was the first.
Her uncle, who lived in Moreno Valley, prompted her to go to community college first, as that was the only process he knew when it came to higher education. In 2017, she began taking classes up the road from CBU, at Riverside City College (RCC). Although she studied math and sciences at RCC, she always planned to pursue a major in architecture.
In her first year at RCC, Muganza met Joseph Gemignani, director of international admissions at CBU, who visited her class for new international students to tell them how to transfer to CBU. Not long after, she was given the opportunity to visit the university.
When Muganza learned about CBU’s five-year master’s in architecture program in her last semester at RCC, she decided that was where she would go.
She jumped at being involved on campus: senator in Student Senate, president for the American Institute of Architecture Students, treasurer for the National Organization of Minority Architects, international student ambassador and a member of the Architecture Honor Society.
Now, Muganza works as an architecture designer for Ordiz-Melby Architects, an architectural design and planning firm in Bakersfield, California.
While Muganza was still pursuing her master’s degree, her brother Joseph Muganza (’24, ’26), arrived at CBU. He also attended RCC, in the hopes it would get him started on his college journey while still preparing for his academic goals. After graduating from RCC, he chose to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Marketing.
When he first arrived at the university, Joseph Muganza attended many campus events.
“The International Department did a lot of events to connect international and local students,” he said. Some of his favorites were the Festival of Color, Cultural Café and the Lunar New Year festival.
When Deborah Muganza came to CBU, her older siblings had already graduated. However, Joseph Muganza decided to go back for a Master of Science in Business Analytics, landing them on the CBU campus at the same time.
Like her siblings, Deborah Muganza, a biomedical engineering senior, also attended RCC where she studied biology. When she first came to the U.S., she couldn’t drive, so her older sister would bring her along to CBU before or after Deborah Muganza’s classes at RCC. It was then that she fell in love with the university.
“I loved the way the campus looked,” she said. “The students were all so welcoming.”
Along with being an office assistant for the Dr. Robert K. Jabs School of Business and a teaching assistant for an anatomy and physiology class, Deborah Muganza is a research team member for the Cardiac Engineering team. This team spends the year researching and developing an artificial heart for the annual Heart Hackathon, a global artificial heart design competition.
She plans on taking the MCAT in February and applying for medical schools following the exam.
Despite not interacting much at school due to their busy schedules, the Muganza siblings reconnected often at home. They intentionally planned what they called, “siblings night,” where they would watch a movie together, make dinner or go out to get massages after a tiring semester, said Jennifer Muganza.
“It feels good to have people around you that support you. I had my brother and sister alongside me, knowing I had somebody to call who can come and help whenever I needed it,” she said. “That’s always a big deal for international students.”