Celebrating Black History Month
“It’s the creativity of maths that appeals to me, and how there are probably infinite ways to solve a problem and come to the same answer.”
Blessings Mwanza is a third year Mathematics student in the Department of Mathematics and President of the Afro-Caribbean Society.
Creating community for students
Blessings successfully ran for President of the Afro-Caribbean Society (ACS) following a year spent as Sponsorship Officer for the society.
“The previous President, Tani Akinmoladun, inspired me to run for the role by involving me in some of the responsibilities, and I found myself really enjoying it. I like helping people and being able to pass on my experience – things I didn’t know when applying for or starting university, which I would have found useful.”

In his role as Sponsorship Officer, Blessings ran a number of career events, including the Internship Insider event which was attended by students from University College London and Queen Mary’s University London, and supported by HSBC – one of ACS’ supporters.
This year, his focus is on creating more regular, intimate social events.
“We run some great events – like Afrogala – which are a lot of fun, but they tend to be less frequent. I’m part of the Imperial College School of Medicine Football Club and I’ve enjoyed having weekly social events and the sense of community that comes from meeting regularly. I’d like to replicate this more within ACS with events like books clubs and running clubs.”
Creativity in Mathematics
Blessings says he’s always enjoyed maths but didn’t plan to study it at university until he began learning more complex mathematics. One book in particular inspired him – Music of the Primes: Why an Unsolved Problem in Mathematics Matters.
“This book talks about the history of the Riemann Hypothesis, how the problem evolved, and the many different ways people have approached and solved it. It’s the creativity of maths that appeals to me, and how there are probably infinite ways to solve a problem and come to the same answer.
“I was interested in studying at Imperial College London because I wanted to study at a top university and I wanted to be in London – Imperial ticked both those boxes.”

From ‘man of the match’ to investment banking
Alongside his studies, Blessings plays for the Imperial College School of Medicine Football Club. He says that one of his top memories from Imperial so far is from Varsity 2023, where Blessings was named ‘man of the match’ as his team marched to victory. His faith in Christianity and his church are also very important to him and something he says has developed during his time at university.
Blessings’ future plans include a career in finance, following an internship this summer with investment bank BNP Paribas.
Read next
Follow the Afro-Caribbean Society on Instagram.
Join the Afro-Caribbean Society.
Find out more about Imperial’s ambition for the Class of 2030 in the Science for Humanity strategy.