Masachs Boungou is a recent Ph.D., a Fulbright alumnus, and the author of The Power of Personal History: Turning one’s life tragedies into triumph. His moving memoir is a tale of a young man who goes from civil war to living in the forests for over a year in the Republic of the Congo, to Fulbright Scholar at Brandeis University, and the halls of a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Born to a mother who never finished high college but emphasized to him the power of personal history and education, Dr. Masachs learned English as a young adult by listening to a broadcast, Voice of America.

The Power of Personal History is an account of a young man’s discovery of personal history, its inspirational power, and the price he has to pay to turn tragedies into opportunity for growth and triumph. Dr. Masachs has crafted a unique story about personal tragedies of how they live within us, create an inward drive and tenacity, but also of how higher education and a new language and offer us a different perspective to see one’s life through new eyes to morph it.

His book can be found at Lala Books in Lowell, MA and on Amazon.com. Dr. Masachs will also be signing his book at this public event.

This Spring 2022, Dr. Masachs delivered the student commencement speech at his UMASS Lowell graduation ceremony which can be found on YouTube. His dissertation research documents the stories of how immigrants who experienced civil war and/or genocide use these experiences to fuel their entrepreneurial drive and business creation in America.