I was born and raised in Zimbabwe. When I was 16, I must have applied to over 100 colleges. I was using the American Embassy space where they help students from less privileged areas. I remember vividly the first image I saw from ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Kate’s. It was of the pond—with the words ‘to teach women to lead and influence’. I yearned for that. I knew going to school with other women would be powerful. That was my starting point. At 17, I moved to Minnesota and started at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Kate’s.
I graduated in 2007 with a nutritional sciences degree. Then life hit me hard.
When I moved from Zimbabwe, I was running from pain. I was a survivor of childhood sexual assault and my father was violent. I actually wrote a letter to myself, saying I don't want to be in this community, I want to go away and get a good education. That was my dream which I have done and am so proud of. But I had an invisible knapsack on my back: trauma. I went into the wrong relationships and married a man who was abusive like my dad. Everything came to pass in that linear way because I had unhealed trauma. When I met with social workers, I felt inspired. I wanted to be like them. I wanted to serve back. So I returned to ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Kate’s, graduating in 2015 with a social work degree.
Now every morning I do God's work and it doesn't feel like work. I get to talk to my clients like they're my sisters. I minimize pain in ways nobody could do for me. I’m a founder of a nonprofit organization called Phumulani Minnesota, African Women Against Violence. Phumulani is a Zulu word meaning level of peace. We work to end all forms of gender-based violence using a culturally specific lens. It’s holistic in that we have coaches who can address depression, chemical abuse, different root causes. We offer career and leadership development. Everything is to prevent a woman from going back to her abuser.
Recently I was granted a 2022 Bush Fellowship, so now I can complete my doctoral studies. My dream is to be a renowned researcher for the prevention of childhood trauma.
I tell young women, if there is a school that will transform you from the inside out, it’s ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Kate’s. You feel it when you’re there. Then you go out into the world and see how you've transformed. ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Kate’s helps a young woman who does not know the world quite yet figure out who she is. It transformed me from an African girl who was told she couldn’t to believing I can do anything and all things in excellence. It was a combination of the coursework, the classes, the curriculum and the environment. It made me look at myself and say, ‘I can do that. I can be like her and do better.’
I think our president, Becky Roloff, is the most modern, most chic woman leader. She reminds me of what ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Kate’s really is—up to date yet consistently changing. I was a non-traditional student, yet never felt out of place because there are spaces created for everybody to feel at home.
For me, feeling safe is a big thing. During that first year, on my walk from Whitby Hall, where I lived, to the chapel, I’d always see Sisters Kathy and Susan, who would stop to ask how my day was. I was a 17-year-old girl from Zimbabwe, yet they made me feel I belonged. It was the first time I felt safe.