MasterCard Foundation program graduates first six scholars
The campus held a festive event May 16 to honor six students from Sub-Saharan Africa earning master's degrees this month — the first graduating cohort from UC Berkeley's partnership with The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program.
The campus held a festive event Friday to honor six students from Sub-Saharan Africa earning master’s degrees this month. The group is the first graduating cohort from UC Berkeley’s partnership with The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program.
Malawian undergrad scholar James Tayali performed a song he wrote to honor the graduating students. (Keegan Houser photos)
Narissa Allibhai, also in development practice, is returning to Kenya this summer, where she plans to work on human-rights issues.
Naa Barkor Kweibu Pierre (master of development practice) expressed thanks for the program’s support: “I was given the opportunity to focus on my education, growth and development without having to worry where the next payment for my tuition was going to come from,” she said.
Tawanda Bonface Kanhema (journalism) and Keziah Mwelu Mwang’a (city planning) serve as role models for Sulaiman Saed Haruna, right, an undergraduate in the program. Kanhema hopes to write a book about governance in Africa. Mwang’a will intern this summer at PolicyLink, a national nonprofit, before returning to Kenya.
Armanda Aya Kouassi has applied to M.B.A. programs; she runs a nonprofit that mentors West African girls interested in STEM fields.
Aisha Kigongo, left, who earned a master's degree in information management and systems, talks with Shanti Corrigan of International House. Before pursuing a fulltime job, Kigongo plans to return to her village in Uganda to work on youth-education projects.
For the past two years, UC Berkeley has been one of several schools worldwide to partner with the program, a $500 million initiative that will provide full scholarships and comprehensive support to 15,000 talented students from developing countries.
Through the partnership, Berkeley will focus on students intent on returning to their home countries to make life better there. In all, the campus will serve 113 students from Sub-Saharan Africa through 2020 – offering financial, academic and social support, as well as career counseling.