How does a little girl, left without parents at age 10, grow up in a country with 4.8 million people living in poverty and decide to pursue a Masters degree in the United States?

In an article for the Marriot School of Business at BYU, Vimbai says about her experience,

“My dad died when I was two years old, and when my mom got sick, she taught my six brothers and me how to do things by ourselves because she knew we would be alone,”

As a young girl, Vimbai remembers how important education was to her mother. After her passing, Vimbai studied harder than ever, even though she was now also partly responsible for caring for her younger siblings. Her hard work paid off when she graduated from a college in Zimbabwe with a degree in Marketing. She also learned skills in resource development, data analysis, administration, and project implementation. Vimbai began working for a nongovernmental organization in Zimbabwe. About this experience, she says,

“Going into the villages and seeing the difference the projects were making in the lives of the people was satisfying. However, I felt I needed more skills to serve more effectively and be qualified for higher-management roles.”

Vimbai was accepted to a Masters’ program at Brigham Young University and graduated with a Master’s in Public Administration.