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During the AIDS epidemic that devastated Africa, Maruping said, he left the government to work for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Botswana, but he returned to the National Health Laboratory to complete his UMGC degree. Today, at 50, he supervises the HIV Reference Testing Laboratory, as well as other Botswana labs that test for HIV and other emerging infectious diseases. He recently introduced HPV DNA testing as one of the screening methods for cervical cancer. 

“I basically supervise testing at the highest level of the reference laboratory network,” he said. “I also am an adviser on issues pertaining to the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention, which falls under the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Weapons Management Authority under the Ministry of Justice and Defense.” 

Biotechnology threats have become the focus of his latest work, he said. 

“As a medical laboratory scientist, I have been worried by the rate at which biotechnology has advanced,” he said. “While it is a driving force behind most economies, and it brings profits to countries, there’s a dual use for it. As much as good scientists want to use biotechnology for the benefit of mankind, we still have pockets of scientists who may be crazy and want to develop biological weapons. That’s what keeps me awake.”  

That concern brought him to UMGC after an internet search led him to the university’s biotechnology program and its specializations in biosecurity and biodefense. 

In addition to the usual challenges for adult students, such as fitting classes into work schedules and family responsibilities, Maruping also faced time zone challenges with his professors and other students. 

“The time difference was one of the factors that made learning very complex,” he said, “but it was a learning opportunity for me to negotiate with my classmates, especially when to have meetings. I had classmates who would agree to shift and have meetings that would accommodate both of us. And so usually we had meetings that for me would be late at night, maybe 10, and then for them, it may be at 2 p.m.” 

He said he vetted his professors on social media and was impressed with how knowledgeable and accomplished they were. Some have published influential articles, and they were adept at passing what they knew onto the students. He said they were always ready to answer questions, they provided platforms for discussion and they made themselves available to help him one-on-one, regardless of the time difference.  

“I still keep in touch with them just to show my appreciation. It has been a good journey to work with them,” he explained. 

He said his success coach was helpful, too. 

“Every time I had issues, I would speak to him on the side, and he would tell me what I should do or he would refer me to some of the lecturers so that they would speak to me, and I could get my marks improved,” he said. “The professors and support staff provided the environment to make learning at a distance easily accomplishable.” 

Maruping said was also grateful to the government of Botswana, through the Ministry of Health, for supporting his desire to earn “this very, very powerful degree with UMGC.”  

Maruping wants to use his new degree to advance Botswana in biosafety and security. The 2005 International Health Regulations—an agreement between nearly all the countries in the world and the World Health Organization—requires countries to have plans for preventing and responding to public health threats. However, Maruping said the Global Health Security Index shows that many countries, especially in Africa, have yet to meet established goals.  

His UMGC degree, he said, has trained him to implement the structures required for any country to respond to any pandemic and to determine if it is a manmade pandemic or a natural one. 

“For me, this is an exciting opportunity,” he said.