Great Grads 2025: Tinotenda Musingarimi | Johnson C. Smith University

Tinotenda “Tino” Musingarimi walks across the stage to collect his degree in Information Systems Engineering, knowing he is a leader among his peers who has had to overcome adversity.

As he prepares for graduation, he describes himself as a driven self-starter, passionate about finding solutions that produce results, and known for helping his fellow students. However, in his sophomore year, he faced health complications that nearly forced him to leave school.

“I called my family on the phone and told them I was ready to drop out,” he said. “I went to the Registrar’s Office to ask to be dropped out.”

Through the support of his faith, family, friends and the registrar he was able to stay in school.

“Most importantly, my faith in God in helping me and encouraging me during this time,” said Musingarim, “There is no way I would be graduating this month without their support.

During his time at JCSU, Musingarimi has earned several honors, including the Richard B. Fisher and James B. Duke Scholarships. He also won the Department of Homeland Security Cyber Security and HBCU Energy Leadership pathways Hackathons. Academically, Musingarim was a Presidential Scholar, reserved for students earning a GPA of 4.0 with a minimum of 15 semester hours, and prepared for his future with a summer internship with Morgan Stanley.

As for his fellow students, some of whom he worked with as a peer tutor with Student Support Services, he has some wisdom to share.

“Never ever give up! It takes rain and sunshine to make a rainbow. There will always be light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how long it is. Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardships. A smooth sea has never made a skilled sailor.”

As for his future, after being accepted into prestigious graduate programs at Columbia University, University of Southern California, and Carnegie Mellon University, he has chosen to continue his journey at Carnegie Mellon in the fall, saying that he one day hopes to work as a successful technology entrepreneur.