Three young women from Africa make up the second cohort of MasterCard Foundation Scholars at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. They are among the 114 women from foreign nations in Wellesley’s first-year class.
The three MasterCard Foundation Scholars are Mebatsion Gebre from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Lisa Kuka from Harare, Zimbabwe, and Sarah Nzau from Mombasa, Kenya.
Gebre will study chemistry, astronomy, and engineering at Wellesley. She plans to return to Ethiopia after graduation to work in the energy sector.
Kuka hopes to one day become a neurosurgeon. She also hopes to conduct research on finding cures for life-threatening diseases.
Nzau spent a gap year after high school working for the Equity Bank of Kenya. She plans on majoring in biochemistry and want to return to Kenya to work in the pharmaceutical industry.
Karen Pabon, director of the Slater International Center at Wellesley College stated that the MasterCard Foundation Scholars “add to the already diverse population that we have at the college and share their life experiences and world views both inside of the classroom and outside the classroom.”