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 St. 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 St. 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 St. 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 St. Kate’s. You feel it when you’re there. Then you go out into the world and see how you've transformed. St. 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 St. 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.