After years of serving his country in the infantry, Refa Tomy Mukendi's Army career ended with a medical discharge. He was crushed. Not knowing what else to do, he went to the base's education room. There he met a college recruiter, who changed his life.
Five years later, Mukendi graduated from Purdue's online Master of Science in Engineering Technology program in December 2025. Now, a database engineer with J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Mukendi is on track to complete Purdue's online Doctor of Technology program in 2027.