Arriving at Harare’s Arundel campus this August brought back memories of being on an all girls school campus years ago. And if the campus brought back memories of high school , the atmosphere was quickly transformed by the refreshingly mellow but energetic Rebekah Bell, Education Matters’ YYAS Coordinator who made sure we were all taken care of.
One thing was clear: both the educator and students conferences were well thought out, well organized and well executed and we were in for an exciting, packed few days of learning and sharing.
As a new comer to college advising, I could visualize my Zambian students fitting into the YYAS program. It is responsive and proactive and answers to very real needs and challenges. I was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about available higher education opportunities for our students internationally, but perhaps the most important thing was being together in the same space with educators from across the continent, engaging one on one with U.S admissions advisors and of course with the staff of Education Matters, Yale Young African Scholars and Higher Life Foundation.
Interacting for three days with a diverse group of educators from Southern and Eastern Africa, coming together to support our young people, gave me hope for the future of our Continent.
Mbao Ngula is the Founder and Director of Project Educate which works in the Western Province of Zambia.
Photo Credits: Othmane Fourtassi and Dagan Rossini, YYAS
I’m still new in the students advising field, so I was wondering how one applies to the YYAS educators’ conference?
Thank you for your comment, Fezeka. YYAS invites some of the educators who are working with students attending YYAS as well as educators from key schools or who have been proactive and recommended as working with students applying internationally. Please encourage your top 11th graders to apply to YYAS for 2018 at this link: https://africanscholars.yale.edu/
Thank you Rebecca