Mesa Student Johar Zuber’s Journey from self-proclaimed “Cow Herder” to College Graduate

By Beverly Fruto

“Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.” This quote by Roy Bennett has been a guiding principle for San Diego Mesa College student Johar Zuber. He will be graduating from Mesa in May 2022, but his path to college was far from conventional. 

Zuber was born in a remote rural area of Ethiopia called Meger, where subsistence agriculture was the predominant way of life. He came from a long line of farmers whose days were spent growing their food, raising livestock, and building their own homes. Men did most of the farming, while women took care of the children, maintained the homes, prepared the food, and pounded grains to turn them into flour. As a young boy, Zuber had many responsibilities, including herding cows and goats, washing clothes, and collecting firewood for cooking. But his most difficult task was fetching water for the family. Each morning he would wake up at 5:30 to start the trek to the water source, then carry a large jug of water back home. He had to bring home enough water for the family to use for bathing, cleaning, cooking, and of course, drinking. His daily walk was a six kilometer (3.7 mile) round trip that took about an hour and a half. 

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