A headshot of Vimbainashe Masiyiwa.

Vimbainashe Masiyiwa '17

Hometown

Harare, Zimbabwe

Path

Building on skills developed at Bryant and inspired by a "duty to give back to the African continent."

Vimbainashe Masiyiwa ’17 is a believer. In the power of people to inspire, to create paths to success, and to find brave solutions to big problems.

That belief led Masiyiwa, who was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa, to help develop the inaugural Innovate Elevate Youth Conference. Sponsored by her family’s Higherlife Foundation, which seeks to support orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa, the conference inspired more than 350 young Africans who attended and provide them with a venue to learn from some of the continent’s leading business people and innovators. “I always tell people Africa doesn’t lack the skill; all it needs is opportunities and people who can drive innovation to create something beneficial, sustainable and practical,” Masiyiwa says.

She credits her time as a Bryant Computer Information Systems major with teaching her how to manage resources, and the University’s signature IDEA (Innovation and Design Experience for All) design-thinking program with introducing her to iterative thinking and problem-solving. Her double-minor in International Affairs and Sociology-Service Learning helped her learn how to make a difference.

“For some things, you have to teach from experience, you can’t go back to the textbook. For me, my experience was Bryant. I thought back to what I did at Bryant that was different, that made a difference. What did I learn that inspired me?”

What inspires Masiyiwa is what she describes as her “duty to give back to the African continent.”

“As you grow up you begin to understand the problems and social issues people face and the impact that they have on Africans my own age,” she says.

Real World Experience

Mentoring

Peer Mentor
• Served first-year international and domestic multicultural students attending 4MILE, designed to help with the transition to living in the United States.

Leadership

Innovate Elevate Youth Conference
• As project and event manager, worked with volunteers and logistics for the event, which featured some of Africa's leading innovators.

Multicultural

Multicultural Student Union
• Part of the annual Extravaganza show

A Connected Community

Bryant's purposeful student life delivers co-curricular immersion with an inspiring, collegial community. Students forge deep connections that last a lifetime.

Keith Kosoff '23 MBA
Keith Kosoff ’23 MBA

“No matter where you are in your career, you need to stay ahead and learn. I went to college many years ago. This program has been a great experience to refresh and stimulate different ways of thinking. It’s made me better in the way I approach my profession.”

A headshot of Katherine Castillo.
Katherine Castillo '19

At just 21, she became the youngest student ever admitted into a prestigious Italian graduate program.

A headshot of Ashley Nesmith.
Ashley Nesmith '17

Opportunities to examine real-life issues and support important causes readied an altruist to make a difference.