THE University of Botswana chemistry lab has been a second home to 27-year-old Harriet Okatch-Nkala for the past eight years. Research for her PhD has kept her away from her husband and daughter for most of her academic life but it has all paid off.

In October, she will become the first Motswana to be awarded a PhD by the University of Botswana. Okatch-Nkala hopes to put Botswana on the world map with her achievement.

The Ugandan-born chemist is thankful to her secondary school teacher for opening up her mind to chemistry.

Coming from a family of six siblings, Okatch-Nkala is the only one who decided to study chemistry. "I come from a family of six and we were self-sufficient in entertaining ourselves. When we were growing up, my father used to say: 'My kids all have a PhD in playing!' I come from a very diverse family. My elder sister just finished her Masters in economics, my two younger sisters are pursuing degrees in Namibia and my younger brother is studying paramedics in Canada."

She shrugs off the perception that obtaining a PhD makes her an over-achiever. In fact, she points out that she was never really close to being "the star pupil". She confesses that her worst academic experience was having to supplement maths in her first year at UB. By fourth year, she was determined to make the best of it. "At third year, I wasn't doing very well. But come fourth year, I just told myself that I had to work hard, and I did. I picked up my grades so much I ended up being second in class and I graduated with a second-class upper division. Based on the fact that I had done a single major in chemistry and my good fourth year grades, I was allowed to apply directly for my PhD so I didn't have to do my Masters."

She took a two-year working break before returning to begin her thesis on 'Addressing Aspects of Sampling, Separation and Detection of Carbohydrates'.

Her love for chemistry started when she was in Form Three, and she has never looked back. Her thesis deals with improving the method of determining carbohydrates and their contents within any species or sample no matter how small the quantity. Although the research is not unique, her quest was to improve on methods that currently exist.

Her research is useful in the analysis of a locally grown groundnut, which has not been classified scientifically. It is mainly found in Africa and Southern America.

"We have actually attempted to do research on it and we took different varieties of the nut and looked at their carbohydrate contents and we were able to actually characterise them based on the type of carbohydrates that they actually contain."

The groundnuts were found not only to be edible but have industrial use as well. The carbohydrates found in the nuts can be used as a thickener in ice cream.

The road to success has not been without hardships. She had difficulty finding a job after her first degree. This forced her to pursue a doctorate in order to enhance her chances of employment. Her biggest challenge, however, was balancing her schoolwork and family. "When I came to start my PhD, I was pregnant and three months into it, I had my daughter. It was very tricky balancing everything but the support I got from my husband made it manageable. Sometimes I could stay here until 3 or 4 in the morning."

Her future plans include working for Harvard Botswana Institute. After submitting a proposal to the organisation, Okatch-Nkala will spend a year training in Boston. She believes that the experience she will gain will greatly benefit Botswana.

Outside the lab, she can be found on the basketball court with her husband. She readily admits that she is a bit of a tomboy, though she finds time to socialise with her girlfriends.

She is very grateful to everyone who has supported her through her academic journey.

"All my academic merits that I have, I credit to Botswana and solely because that is where I have actually lived and grown up. I would love to come back and work at the university. I am also grateful to my supervisor Dr Torto who was the driving force behind my PhD.

I wouldn't have wanted anybody else to supervise me. He had the time, the patience, the ideas and the criticism all in the right proportions to lift the whole research group and he made us better people," she says.