Uganda Student Profiles
Usap Uganda, which was started in 2006, has consistently had a growing number of applicants each year. Judging from these large numbers, it is evident that the program's popularity is soaring amongst Ugandan high school students. We are continuously increasing student intake through participation in outreach efforts to different areas in Uganda while at the same time seeking ways to improve the running of program. The high number of successful applicants who gain admission to top universities is testament that Usap Uganda strives to aim high, working to achieve the mutual goals of the Usap Global community. We are extremely proud of our students' drive, determination, great achievements and successes, all highlighted by their profiles below.
Hope Mbabazi
Mount Holyoke College 10'
Hope Mbabazi (Mubende- Uganda) was raised by her sweet grandmother after the death of her parents. With the help of Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), she was able to attend one of the best secondary schools in Uganda- Mt. St. Mary’s College Namagunga, where she passed with a first grade.
She was the first successful USAP student from Uganda (2006). She is currently a student at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. In her first year, she won a book prize for her excellence in French and this year she received a Laurel Fellowship to study in France 2008-2009, which is a dream come true for her. She is also a recipient of the Andrea and Fred Wilson scholarship Fund at Mount Holyoke College.
Among her other activities, Hope is the intercollegiate representative of the Mount Holyoke African –Caribbean Student Association, a board member of the International Student Orientation Committee, a member of the Youth Action International and the Newman Association. She also tutors Math and English to some Burundi refugee kids in Springfield, MA.
Up to date, Hope cannot believe that she is in the USA because she never though that one day she would be in such a place! She says, "I am where I am today because of the generosity of many people and so I hope that one day I will be in position to donate an awesome amount of money to USAP and FAWE (U) so that more disadvantaged students can access education".
After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, she plans to either get a job in the financial sectors or go on to graduate school.
Henry Kaweesi
Cornell University 11'
Raised by a single mother in Kampala, Uganda, Henry beat the odds to win admission to the extremely competitive Cornell University in 2007. The first born of three boys, he always wanted to be a Pharmacist when still a boy and despite his mother's low income, he never gave up believing that his dream is in sight. He demonstrated strong ambitions and he was in 2005 elected a student leader at Makerere College School. His performance as a leader at school and as a good student paved way for Henry to apply to USAP and when he was admitted he set his focus on joining Cornell. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. He holds a strong conviction to return to Uganda soon after school to help young children who unlike him have never realized the opportunity to realize their dreams and potential.
Laura Turyatemba
Mount Holyoke College 11'
Laura Turyatemba ( Rukungiri, Uganda) is in the 2011 class of Mt Holyoke College, where she is actively involved in group support and therapy for the girl child. she is currently a member of the Mount Holyoke African and Caribbean African Students' Association, and is also a sports and health enthusiast. Her intended majors are economics and international relations, with special emphasis on third- world countries. Her dream is to see a reformed and economically stable Africa, and her yardstick for success lies in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: 'To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.'
Anena Joy Odongpiny
Manhattanville College 11'
Joy is currently a freshman at Manhattanville College. Her intended major is Biology (Neuroscience concentration) and minor Pre-medicine and French. She is a part of the Duchesne center for Religion and Social Justice, the Christian Students club, and the International Students Organization.
She was born in Kampala, Uganda to the late Rosalind and Denis Odongpiny. She has 1 brother and 5 sisters. For her secondary school education in King’s College Budo and Mt. St. Mary’s Namagunga, she was privileged to be on a scholarship program from the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)–Uganda Chapter. Through FAWE-U, she was introduced to USAP which helped her see that her dreams come true. On the 9th January 2008, she joined Manhattanville College, NY with a full scholarship.
Joy hopes to go to Medical School after college and become a Pediatrician. Her ultimate goal is to specialize in Pediatric Infectious Disease or Neurology and Public Health as a practitioner and lecturer. Joy hopes to be at the fore-front of health and education advocacy and reform in Uganda and the world at large. "Where there is will, there is a way."
Albert Okaba Kertho
University of St. Thomas 11'
Albert's home town is Masindi in Uganda. From the start of the first semester of his freshman year at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, Albert Kertho has demonstrated outstanding leadership ability and service to the community. He tutored at Lincoln International High School in Minneapolis. He is actively involved in various club activities on campus as well as in other states. Through the VISION club on campus, Albert went on a 3-weeks volunteer trip to Guatemala in January 2008. He is currently an international student ambassador at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Albert intends to major in Biology and minor in geology as well. He plans to study abroad in Australia or New Zealand during his junior year.
The most important achievement for Albert so far has been his going abroad to Guatemala on a volunteer trip during his first semester. Albert plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and geology then proceed to graduate school for further studies in research.
In fact, Albert dreams of becoming one of the world’s best research scientists of his time.
Joanne Kabajungu
College of St. Catherine 11'
Joanne Kabajungu is among the second group of the USAP students that has the privilege to achieve a higher education. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in International Business at the College of St. Catherine in Saint Paul, Minnesota. At the college, she has been working with perspective international students as the International Admissions Assistant and is an active member of the International Student Organization where she hopes to become its president in her junior year.
After the death of her parents, Joanne was raised by guardians who diligently funded her education in the best schools. She passed with the first grade in Ordinary Level from Mt. St. Mary's Namagunga Secondary School. Although after high school, her guardians could no longer afford the school fees, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) made it possible for Joanne to finish her Advanced Level. She did not have funding to further her education until the USAP program found her in a rural advanced level school in Gulu district, the northern part of Uganda.
Joanne’s dream is to be a part of organizations like USAP that strives to open educational opportunities for financially disadvantaged students with high potential. She also dreams of fighting poverty around the world, especially in her home country.
Zainab Nandawula
Lafayette College 11'
Zainab Nandawula from Mukono District in Uganda is currently pursuing a double-undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering/Economics at Lafayette College in PA. After graduating from college (2011), she hopes to go to graduate school for further studies in Chemistry. She is involved in a few other activities on the college campus; volunteer programs, Amnesty International, the International Students Organization and the environmental awareness club. She also plays intramural tennis and is quite involved in the dancing club.
Her focus on Chemical engineering is not only because of her love of the subject but also because of her wish to see her country progress and take risks in new areas of Science; risks that she thinks are the hope for the nation. It is her dream to, one day, be a part of her country's education program as a teaching professor in Chemical engineering, an adviser and guidance counselor.
Zainab says that throughout her academic life, her teachers, advisers, and later on Usap, have been a source of inspiration and have done a wonderful job in steering her in the direction that she is currently pursuing. She hopes that one day, by being a teacher, role model and mentor; she shall equally contribute to her country-mates' education and take part in shaping and inspiring the younger Ugandan generation'.
Rebecca Rwakabukoza
Amherst College 12'
Rebecca Rwakabukoza (Mubende-Uganda) completed her secondary school education in Mt. St. Mary's Namagunga and with the amazing help of Usap attained a full scholarship to Amherst College in Massachusetts where she is currently an undergraduate student. At Amherst, Becky is a member of Educate!, which is a group of Amherst College students who are trying to make a change in the education system of Uganda. She is also a member of the International Students' Association, African and Caribbean Students Union and Black Students Union.
Becky hopes to major either in Psychology with a premedical course load, or in Biochemistry. She is grateful to all those who have played several important roles, both directly and indirectly, in her education. She says this about her time as a Usap participant in Uganda, "I grew in more ways than just intellectually. I became a better person because of my Usap participation. It is one of those programs that I could call 'enriching'". Becky hopes to give back to such generosity and goodwill, that flows in plenty in her home country and from which she has enormously benefitted.