Alumni Directory Display

Jake graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in International Studies and a minor in Philosophy. During his time at the University, Jake studied three years of Kiswahili and wrote for the Africa Region of the Michigan Journal of International Affairs. He travelled to and worked in Uganda twice during his time as a student. His first trip was spent working as an intern with the Maendeleo Foundation in Mukono, Uganda. There he spent two months teaching children and adults how to use computers and worked with the Foundation’s director to identify new methods for developing the organization. The following summer, Jake held a three-month research associate position with the Refugee Law Project in Mbarara, Uganda where he conducted a study on the ability of refugees to both access and use technological devices in the Nakivale settlement. He held nearly 100 interviews with refugees of varying ages, nationality, and gender to determine how best to approach developing a technology education program in the settlement. Jake looks forward to practicing his Kiswahili and pursuing his interest in using technology to improve livelihoods in his upcoming work with Population Services International in Tanzania.

Khaleelah graduated from New York University with a degree in Individualized Study, concentrating on Globalization, Media Expression, & Education Inequality and minoring in Global Education. She was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the United States at a young age. Having experienced, firsthand, the inequalities within the academic system in several states, she shifted her academic coursework to explore issues of global educational inequality. Her active involvement in mentorships on campus with minority students propelled her to investigate knowledge and power as tools to manipulate academic institutions. She spent a year abroad at NYU Accra, where she intimately studied the academic and cultural effects of globalization. During her time in Ghana she worked with several NGOs working on curriculum formation, instruction, and literacy projects. As part of her internship with World Education Ghana, she developed an environmental project to educate children on climate change. She went on to volunteer with VLF-Ghana at an annual reading clinic developing literacy and oratorical skills with primary school children. Through the use of media like dance, song, and oration, Khaleelah helped students tap into their creativity and connect with their identities. She is looking forward to joining IEFT’s Orkeeswa school, building leadership skills, exploring Tanzania, and fostering community.

Alumni Update:

Walter is currently living in Philadelphia, and just began a position as a Program Coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. Previously, he was Princeton in Africa’s Program Coordinator for over 3 years!

Fellow Bio:

Walter graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in International Politics and a certificate in African Studies.  During his time at Georgetown, he studied international institutions, African affairs, and education. His undergraduate thesis was on innovative education programs in Kenya.  Walter spent the fall of his junior year studying in Strasbourg, France.  He has also spent time abroad interning in Rwanda at a university program called Kepler Kigali, where he assisted faculty and staff, supported programming for extracurricular activities, and mentored and tutored students.  Walter has worked in Washington, D.C. as an International Programs intern at the Corporate Council on Africa and a Youth Programs intern at the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  Additionally, at Georgetown, Walter worked on the logistics committee for the school’s Africa Business Conference and served as a Peer Advisor to freshmen at the School of Foreign Service.  He was selected as a Global Curriculum Fellow by the D.C. Public Schools Department of Global Education; through this fellowship, he assisted in designing an African Studies course for high school students.  Walter will be working as the Geography Teaching Fellow at Maru-a-Pula school in Gaborone, Botswana. 

Sarah Louis is from Orlando, Florida and the proud child of Haitian immigrants. She has a B.A. in African American Studies and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida (UF). At UF, Sarah was President of her school’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She helped make an impact through political, economic, social, and educational changes. Additionally, Sarah served as a Teaching Fellow for the Political Science Department at UF. She loved learning about global issues and cultures and even studied abroad in Brazil, Palestine, Israel, and France. In fact,  her love for learning about global issues assisted her as a Junior Summer Institute (JSI)  Fellow with Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) in the summer of 2021. She took graduate-level courses about public policy and data analysis, and co-authored a published research paper on immigrant remittance flows before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing her passion for service, Sarah served as a Community Development Fellow with the City of Gainesville during her senior year. She worked on multiple projects collecting quantitative and qualitative data to help local government officials develop a food waste ordinance that redistributed excess food to feed those in need. Having had experiences in education advocacy and creating equity, Sarah is excited for her fellowship with Kakenya’s Dream as an Education Program Officer. In her free time, Sarah enjoys learning natural hairstyles, engaging in photography, and spending time with friends and family.

Alumni Update:

Nina is currently serving as a Special Projects Officer at the Akilah Institute, a Kigali-based higher education campus and online school for women in East Africa. In the fall of 2021, she will begin her studies as a dual Master of Social Work and Master of Social Policy candidate at the Brown School in Washington University, St. Louis. 

Fellow Bio:

Nina graduated from the University of Virginia with degrees in English and Arts Administration. At UVA, she worked primarily in the arts community as a producer of student theater, co-chair of the Student Council Arts Committee, and as an Arts Mentor to local elementary-aged students. Her thesis focused on the representation of death in children’s literature, which she supplemented with a self-published children’s novella. After graduation, Nina moved to Memphis, TN, where she has spent the past two years. There, she worked as an assistant fifth-grade English teacher at a Title I public school and implemented mental health procedures to support her students suffering from trauma and anxiety. She additionally worked as an Urban Fellow for the City of Memphis to foster summer literacy among youth. Currently, Nina is finishing up a service year at The Well, a pediatric wellness center, where she teaches nutrition, movement, and mindfulness to children. For fun, she dabbles as a lounge singer, attempts to cook, and loves to explore the Delta region. Nina is excited to pursue her interest in the intersections of educational and health equity at More Than Me and can’t wait to meet her wonderful new students.

Tabitha graduated from Princeton University with an Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major and a Korean Language and Culture minor. She is originally from Nungua, Ghana but grew up in New Jersey and speaks Ga, Spanish, Korean, and English. Broadly, she is interested in access to healthcare and education. While at Princeton, she served as an Advising Fellow and Head Advising Fellow for a non-profit called Matriculate where she coached high-achieving low-income and first generation high school seniors through the college application process. She has also volunteered at JFK Medical Center and shadowed at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Tabitha is also interested in the effects of environmental toxins on health and completed a Senior Thesis about the role that mercury exposure can play on gene expression. She is very excited about her work as a Program and Operations Fellow at Young 1ove in Botswana where she can put to use her interests in healthcare and access to education while also learning about Setswana language and culture!

Lucy, a native of Hunan, China, graduated summa cum laude from Bowdoin College with High Honors in Political Philosophy, a second major in Mathematics, and a minor in Computer Science. Lucy became passionate about international development, and particularly about funding issues and private-public partnerships, through her volunteer experience teaching English in Longshan Village in China, as well as her professional experiences in making resource allocation decisions in both public and private sectors. As an undergraduate, she interned as an analyst for Bowdoin College’s $1 billion endowment, and was the student representative on Bowdoin Trustee’s Financial Planning Committee. She was a part of Bowdoin’s Common Good Grant Program, in which competitively selected committee members raised funds and wrote grants to Maine non-profits after evaluation and site visits. Following graduation, Lucy worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as a research analyst, where she learned about useful market tools in improving the economy and consumer welfare. She conducted and published research on central bank policies, the US housing market, homeowner behaviors, bank regulations, securitization, and made investments recommendations to institutional investors. In her free time, she helps to educate prisoners through writing, enjoys rock climbing, skiing, watching soccer, and is an avid pianist. As a fellow, Lucy believes in African Leadership Academy’s mission in educating young leaders for the future of African development, and looks forward to applying her prior experiences with funding and markets to help ALA become more financially sustainable.

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 Sei-kashe M’pfunya is currently a second-year MPP student at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs focused on international development in sub-Saharan Africa. At Jackson, she is particularly interested in learning how to refine current philanthropic strategies in the region to better equip non-profit organizations and foundations to fulfill their goals for social impact. She also looks forward to learning how to leverage the arts and cultural sector for public well-being. At Yale, she is a curatorial assistant at the University Art Gallery and volunteers as a remote consultant for the Urban Culture and Heritage Initiative of Mbare, Zimbabwe. She graduated cum laude from Pomona College in 2021 with a BA in International Relations and Fine Art. While at Pomona, Sei-kashe was a resident assistant, creative director of the African Students Association, and founder of the annual Sanbonani! African Film Festival. Sei-kashe brings experience from non-profit and philanthropic sectors in spheres that include philanthropy (Schmidt Futures), art and culture (New York African Film Festival), STEM education (Ingressive for Good), and women (Global Fund for Women). Sei-kashe’s commitment to bringing about public good within sub-Saharan Africa stems from the promise and vitality she sees in her home country Zimbabwe. Sei-kashe plans to work for development organizations that center on sub-Saharan Africa and is excited to start that journey in Kenya

Cameron graduated from Case Western Reserve University with Honors in each of her three majors: International Studies, Political Science, and English. As an undergraduate, she joined a conflict-resolution delegation in Bosnia-Herzegovina to study grassroots peacebuilding efforts, spent a semester studying at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and interned for the political and economic section of the U.S. Embassy in Gaborone, Botswana. Upon graduation, she was awarded two of the highest possible honors for students at CWRU, including the Edward Corcoran Award for outstanding leadership, character, and service as well as the Flora Stone Mather Alumnae Award for outstanding academic performance in the humanities. After graduation, Cameron combined her passion for reconciliation and her love of creative writing by designing, implementing, and facilitating a youth poetry camp for South African high school students with the support of a national $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace Grant. Additionally, she completed French language study and archival research on African immigration in Montpellier, France, funded by the competitive Eva L. Pancoast Memorial Fellowship. Her experiences in storytelling, grant writing, and international exchange inspired her to join International Rescue Committee’s team in Kenya as a Princeton in Africa Fellow.

Megan graduated from American University’s School of International Service with a degree in International Studies, concentrating in peace and conflict resolution. Much of her undergraduate coursework and research centered on the nexus of gender and conflict, leading to her senior thesis on girl child soldiers and their reintegration processes. At American, Megan led an Alternative Break program to Rwanda for undergraduate and graduate students to study women and youth development in a post-conflict context. Megan furthered her passion for the region when she studied abroad in Nairobi, Kenya and interned at Peace Tree Network, a local peacebuilding organization. Throughout her undergraduate career, Megan interned with organizations in Washington, D.C., including ILive2Lead, United to End Genocide, and the U.S. Department of State. She also served as President of the School of International Service Undergraduate Council. After graduating, Megan worked at Chemonics International in the East and Southern Africa regional business unit. Born and raised in Mililani, Hawaii, Megan loves going to the beach, hiking, and playing basketball. She is excited to return to Rwanda and its thousand hills, learn Kinyarwanda, and support Resonate’s mission to unlock leadership potential in women and girls.