I was born and raised in Zimbabwe and Australia. During my teenage years, I relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, and have lived there for the past 11 years. During that time, I have lived and worked and worked in Brazil.

I have benefited immensely from my own cross-cultural experiences both professionally and personally. Personally, I have created lasting and meaningful relationships with people from all types of backgrounds. Professionally, I have gained brilliant mentors, and unique skills that make my resume stand out positively.

My travels led me to pursue my Bachelor’s of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of California Davis in 2006. In 2010, I studied abroad in Brazil for a semester. Following my graduation, I taught English as a Second Language for two years in both Brazil and the San Francisco Bay Area. Both experiences cultivated a keen interest in study abroad and intercultural exchange.

Currently, I am completing a Master of Arts program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in International Education Management that is providing me with the skills to work on a managerial level with organizations that make intercultural exchange possible. The program has also allowed me to gain program design and assessment skills that will enable me to one day create programs of this nature myself.

Unfortunately, access for all students to intercultural exchange opportunities remains one of the biggest challenges in international education today. My research interests currently lie in how to increase the participation of under-represented students in study abroad, and how to create programs accommodating their needs and interests better. A sample of my work with regards to that can be found here.

I am also interested in the intersection between international development and international education. In particular, I am interested in how international education can be used to train project personnel and to facilitate interactions between them and their international partners. Recently, I participated as a panelist in a Monterey community movie screening of Delicious Peace Grows In A Ugandan Coffee Bean. In the discussion, I gave my ideas on positively reframing both domestic and international development in Africa, and spoke on how the international education community can contribute to this. I am very interested in connecting with both professionals and thinkers coming up with ways to make ways to make this a reality.