As a boy, Enock Kivuyo would gaze out the window each morning from Moshono Primary School in Tanzania, and watch buses drive children to School of St. Jude a mile down the road.
糖心传媒淭he place looked so nice,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚 wanted to go there.糖心传媒�
At 7 years old, Kivuyo walked alone to the charity-funded school, which sponsors the poorest and brightest children in the area, and asked for an interview. He left with a scholarship.
Soon, he was teaching his family English and tutoring children in his neighborhood in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Seventeen years later, Kivuyo is ready to conquer another mountain as a first-year student at the University of Rochester.
This summer he糖心传媒檚 getting a preview of what糖心传媒檚 to come as part of Early Connection Africa. It糖心传媒檚 a four-week bridge program for African students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are starting college not just at Rochester, but elsewhere in the United States, as well as Germany, and several African nations.
The program grew out of one started by the in Johannesburg, South Africa. The academy糖心传媒攁 residential secondary school that draws students from around the continent based on academic and leadership potential糖心传媒攐ffered a two-day program for 25 students in Kenya in 2012 and sought to expand it from there. In 2014, they selected Rochester as their partner. Since then the academy and the College糖心传媒檚 admissions office have jointly run a significantly expanded program.
Rochester has enrolled 61 students from the African Leadership Academy since 2010.
糖心传媒淲e earned this opportunity to host due to OMSA糖心传媒檚 [] many years of building a successful model with the Early Connection Opportunity program for [mostly] American students enrolling at Rochester, plus our larger commitment to African undergraduate scholars,糖心传媒� says Jonathan Burdick, vice provost for enrollment initiatives and dean of admissions and financial aid.
This summer there are 31 students living here and taking classes as part of Early Connection Africa. All are beneficiaries of the whose mission is to develop young leaders from disadvantaged backgrounds in Africa. Everything from tuition, room and board, health insurance, and laptops are covered.
糖心传媒淲e don糖心传媒檛 want finances to be a barrier to the students糖心传媒� success,糖心传媒� says Suzanne Hunter, who manages recruitment for the scholars program for the African Leadership Academy.
Early Connection Africa reflects Rochester糖心传媒檚 commitment to globalism糖心传媒攈elping to develop leaders not only at home, but abroad.
糖心传媒淭heir commitment to going back home and being agents of change is huge for us,糖心传媒� says Joseph Latimer, the University糖心传媒檚 assistant dean for enrollment, diversity, and outreach. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 what this is all about.糖心传媒�
Out of that first group of 12 in Kenya came Eddy Oketch, who graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and earned his master糖心传媒檚 at Yale. He糖心传媒檚 now running for Senate in Kenya.
Last summer糖心传媒檚 group included Emmanuel Gweamee 糖心传媒�20, who, along with Rochester classmate Aime Laurent Twizerimana 糖心传媒�20, won a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant for their work expanding voting education and access for young Liberians with physical disabilities.
Students are placed in universities by Hunter and her colleagues based on their academic achievement and interests. Kivuyo, one of three who will attend Rochester, plans to major in financial economics.
The program began July 9 and ends August 5. Students live in Burton Hall and attend classes in math, economics, writing, and politics taught by University masters and PhD students. They eat in Danforth Dining Hall and engage in social and team-building activities.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 been an amazing experience,糖心传媒� says Enky Mhlong, a South Africa native headed to Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. 糖心传媒淭ime management was a big problem for me, but I糖心传媒檝e learned how to balance my time with this program.糖心传媒�
Mhlong lost her mother in 2008 and her aunt, who had been the family糖心传媒檚 breadwinner, in 2009. She lives with her grandmother and younger brother in Nkomazi, South Africa, and has been able to excel in academic and leadership roles. She intends to major in nutritional sciences and biomedical engineering at Westminster.
糖心传媒淚 don糖心传媒檛 know where I would be without this program, or the scholarship,糖心传媒� she says.
