Mamasa Camara is a 2015 graduate of Spelman College, the liberal arts educational institution for African American women in Atlanta. Camara, who majored in history, has now been selected as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, the first alumna of Spelman College to be chosen for the prestigious scholarship. She is the only HBCU graduate and the only African American among the 35 scholars chosen this year.
With the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Camara will pursue a master’s degree in African studies at Cambridge University in England. She will focus her research on the practice of female circumcision in Kenya.
Camara was raised in The Bronx, New York, by parents who came to the United States from Gambia. “To represent Spelman in this endeavor is just amazing,” said Camara. “I am really excited that I will be among a group of people who are not just doing research, but actually working to change the world for the greater good.”
