20/03/2026
Three Times She Was Not Selected for University Degree. Today, She is a Lecturer at Mzuzu University
For many, failure is an endpoint. For Lydia Banda Tembo, it became the beginning of a remarkable journey.
After sitting for her Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE), Lydia had every reason to be hopeful. She had performed well, well enough to dream of a place at a public university. Like many ambitious young Malawians, she pinned her hopes on the University Entrance Examinations (UEE). But life had a different script.
She sat for the entrance exams once - no selection.
A second time - still nothing.
A third attempt - again, silence.
Three attempts. Three disappointments.
Each rejection chipped away at her certainty, replacing it with doubt. Years passed, three of them, spent waiting, hoping, and wondering what the future held. The system had its limits; she could no longer sit for the exams again. Doors seemed to close one after another, even when she met the requirements elsewhere. It was a painful season, one where delay felt dangerously close to denial.
But Lydia refused to let that be the end of her story.
Choosing courage over despair, she took a different path. She applied to the Malawi College of Health Sciences, pursuing a Diploma in Nursing and a Certificate in Midwifery. This time, the door opened. And she walked through it with determination.
Her journey into nursing was not just a fallback, it became her foundation.
In 2011, she began working at Dowa District Hospital. Yet deep within her, there was a quiet but persistent voice: this is not the end. She longed for more, not out of dissatisfaction alone, but from a vision of what she could become.
That vision pushed her forward.
Between 2013 and 2014, Lydia enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Pediatric Nursing through a mature entry program at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences. This time, she did not just pass, she excelled, earning a credit. It was proof that her earlier setbacks had never defined her ability.
After graduation, she returned to service at Dowa, but soon another opportunity emerged. In 2016, she stepped into the world of academia, securing a teaching position at Holy Family College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The girl who once struggled to enter university was now shaping the minds of future nurses.
Still, she was not done.
In 2019, she pursued a Master of Science in Child Health Nursing, further sharpening her expertise and deepening her impact. And in 2025, her journey reached yet another milestone, she joined Mzuzu University as a lecturer in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery.
From being rejected three times to becoming a lecturer at a public university, her story came full circle.
Today, Lydia stands not just as an educator, but as a living testimony: delay is not denial.
Her journey is a reminder that success is not always linear. Sometimes, the long road is the one that shapes us best. It builds resilience, strengthens purpose, and reveals possibilities we might have otherwise missed.
To anyone feeling left behind, overlooked, or discouraged, her message is simple but powerful: keep going. Work hard. Set goals. Trust the process, even when it does not make sense.
Because sometimes, the path that begins with "no" leads to a greater "yes" than you ever imagined.
By Hastings Msosa
