Meghan is originally from outside of Philadelphia, PA and graduated with a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2015. Meghan minored in Global Studies with a focus on global poverty. In 2013, Meghan participated in a short-term study abroad experience in Uganda, where she studied Global Leadership and Sustainable Development.  Meghan also served as the Development Intern for a Global Health non-profit, where she executed their first social media fundraising campaign and headed the official launch dinner in downtown Washington DC. Additionally, Meghan was deeply involved with the University of Maryland Alternative Breaks (AB) program, where she served and learned about social justice issues domestically and abroad. Also through AB, Meghan traveled to Haiti for two winters, and taught English at a pre-professional school. Through this she fell in love with teaching and saw education as a catalyst for development.  As a result, she spent much of her college career teaching Biology and Organic Chemistry to freshman and sophomore students. Meghan is so grateful to be serving in Botswana next year, and is excited to learn some Setswana, explore Southern Africa, and have a transformative experience teaching with Maru-a-Pula!

Alumni Update:

Meg moved with her husband and newborn daughter to Zambia in the fall to work in the CDC office on PEPFAR-supported TB/HIV programs. She says to holler if you find yourself in Lusaka!

Alumni Update:

Meg is in her second year at Columbia Law School, where she is focusing on international human rights and criminal law. Last summer she interned at AdvocAid, a holistic defense organization for incarcerated women in Sierra Leone.

Fellow Bio:

Meg is from Memphis, Tennessee and graduated from the University of Virginia in 2015 with degrees in Global Development Studies and French. She lived and studied one summer in Rabat, Morocco, and spent a semester in France studying the French language and working in an international arbitration law firm. She studied Francophone geopolitics, history, and immigration while in both countries, and her senior thesis joined these interests through an exploration of cultural identity, legal rights, and the intersection of race, religion, and politics within France. She interned in the Special Victims Unit of the US Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC, seeing a localized perspective on the US criminal justice system. While at UVA, Meg was the student member of the University’s Board of Visitors, providing a student voice on issues ranging from financial aid to issues of racial and gender equity. She was also an elected representative to the school’s Honor Committee and served as co-editor of a weekly civic engagement newsletter.

A native of Arlington, Virginia, Luisa graduated from Princeton University in 2017 with a B.A. in Religion. Her academic work focused on interreligious encounter; she conducted independent research on Christian-Muslim dialogue in Berlin, Germany, as well as the Syriac Orthodox community in contemporary Germany. Luisa has spent considerable time abroad for her studies and internships; she has lived, learned, and worked in St. Petersburg, Russia; Rome, Italy; and Berlin, Germany. While in Rome in summer 2015, Luisa worked with the Community of Sant’Egidio, an international peacemaking organization that serves Rome’s homeless, migrant, and refugee populations. Luisa was also part of the student coordinating team for the 2014 and 2017 Poverty and Peacemaking Conferences in partnership with Sant’Egidio and the Princeton Office of Religious Life. A lifelong Girl Scout, Luisa served on the board of directors of her council, serving over 80,000 members. Luisa enjoys cooking, hiking, and creative writing. She is looking forward to the many lessons that wait in store for her in Gaborone, Botswana, where she will be a history teacher at Maru-a-Pula.

Lindsey Stephens ‘07 is an anthropology major with an African studies certificate from Los Angeles, California. During her PiAF fellowship year, Lindsey will be working with the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Initiative Partnership in Gaborone, Botswana. She is deferring her entrance to medical school in New York City to pursue this amazing opportunity. While at Princeton, Lindsey was a member of the ski team, served on the executive board of the Student Global AIDS Campaign, and studied abroad at the University of Cape Town. While in Botswana she hopes to learn as much as she can about the challenges of public health in the international arena as well as meet new friends and have lots of travel adventures.

Lavina is from Chicago, IL and is a 2014 graduate from Texas Christian University. Lavina majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry and Business. While at TCU, Lavina worked as a Resident Assistant on campus, participated in cultural dance performances, and was on the executive board for the pre-health honors society. Lavina enjoys travelling, working out, yoga, teaching at her church nursery, and dancing in her free time. While in Botswana, Lavina looks forward to building relationships, learning a new language, and making an impact on the students at Maru-a-Pula.

Lauren graduated from the University of South Florida with degrees in International Studies and Africana Studies. Interested in social justice, she mentored at-risk youth and refugees, interned for the Florida House of Representatives, developed a documentary awareness campaign about urban violence, and directed the USF alternative breaks program, leading service learning trips in the USA, Jamaica, and Costa Rica.  Lauren’s senior thesis documented contemporary homelessness in Tampa. Additionally, she conducted research on women’s microfinance in India and the informal economy in Panama. Lauren spent a year in Tanzania as a Boren Scholar, attaining advanced proficiency in Swahili. She was also selected as a 2014 International Speaker at the Indian Student Parliament in Pune, India, where she presented on income inequality and social justice to an audience of 10,000 people. Lauren is excited to explore southern Africa, play soccer, pick up some Setswana, and learn about education and development in Botswana.

Kwame is from Mandeville, Jamaica and studied anthropology with a minor in American studies and a concentration in African studies at Macalester College. He graduated in 2011. He is passionate about the performing arts and contributed to many theater, dance and music productions at Macalester. In his junior year, Kwame studied abroad in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since graduation, he has been an Assistant Language teacher of English in Japan. Kwame is looking forward to being back in Southern Africa, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, being a part of the Maru-A-Pula family, immersing himself in the performing arts, learning a new language and creating more life-long memories.

Kendall is from Greenwich, CT and majored in Neuroscience with a minor in English. While at Bowdoin, Kendall led numerous student organizations that worked on public health issues on campus, including sexual assault prevention and fostering a healthy drinking culture. Her passion for working with youth populations was strengthened as a mentor for Females Fostering Leadership in Youth (FFLY). Kendall spent a semester abroad in Cape Town, South Africa where she got involved in SHAWCO KenSTEP mentoring program in Kensington Township. Additionally, Kendall has a love for adventure. She enjoys skiing, hiking, rafting, and really anything that gets your heart rate up. Upon returning from Botswana, Kendall hopes to attend medical school and obtain an MD/MPH duel degree. She is eager to get to Gaborone, make new friends, explore Southern Africa, and learn more about the power of peer support for HIV+ adolescents.

Alumni Update:

Kevin is currently a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategist with Justice Informed where his work focuses on providing strategic guidance and consulting services to organizations looking to operationalize DEI outside of publishing commitments and statements. Kevin currently resides in Chicago where has lived since the end of his fellowship in June 2017.

Fellow Bio:

Hailing from a small suburb outside of Dayton, OH, Kevin graduated from Northwestern University where he majored in Philosophy and Economics, with a minor in Legal Studies. While at Northwestern, he spent his time helping organize and run Northwestern’s Global Engagement Summit. This summit brings together student delegates from all across the world who have social change projects. Their time together allows them to workshop their projects and to work with CEOs and mentors from non-profits and social enterprises and reconnect with their passion for social change. In addition to his work with social change projects, Kevin visits Burundi often, visiting his family and gaining a greater appreciation for his cultural roots. Last summer, Kevin, motivated by his experiences in Burundi, was able to attend a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees conference centered on international refugee aid. He took the recommendations and observations from international NGOs back with him to campus and worked closely with Northwestern’s Center for Forced Migration Studies to develop new programs to assess refugee stability in the greater Chicagoland area. While having never officially taught before, Kevin is incredibly humbled and excited to spend his next year in Botswana at Maru-a-Pula as a history teacher.