Alumni Spotlight

Jenna van de Ruit is a feral writer who likes to stretch the bounds of possibility. After studying at UWCSEA (’11) in Singapore, she attended Dartmouth College (’15), then wrote her way home. The potent sense of community and shared vision of UWC has inspired much of her work. She started Zimbabwe’s first writing retreat centre, Treehouse Dwellers, where people gather their stories. She is mother to a nightape, acquainted with lions, and runs wilding programs to help others more deeply connect to this place. She finds that when we strip away the norms, whether inspired by wilderness or UWC’s meeting of many cultures, what emerges is a fierce tenderness.

Transformational and life-changing” are the closest words to describe my time at UWC. I attended Waterford Kamhlaba UWC of Southern Africa from 2021 to 2022, and living and learning alongside peers and teachers from all over the world profoundly shaped my understanding of global issues; perspectives I continue to carry into my work and projects today.

My journey to UWC began in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe, where opportunities like this felt impossibly out of reach. Being selected to attend Waterford Kamhlaba opened doors I never imagined and gave me a sense of belonging in a global community committed to justice, equity, and peace.

Before UWC, I aspired to be a changemaker but didn’t know where to begin. UWC gave me the tools, confidence, and skills to find resources, mobilize others, and take meaningful action. It anchored my focus and helped me define what making a positive impact means to me. I drew on those tools and other resources at UWC to cofound TWEENS Tongogara, a nonprofit that continues to amazing work helping yoing refugees in Tongogara reach their full potential through education.

Since graduating, I’ve been pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Economics at Pomona College in Southern California, where I’ll graduate in 2027. During my summers, I’ve interned at Microsoft, an experience that have deepened my passion for building inclusive and impactful technology.

My work—both now and moving forward—centers on creating technologies that help people realize their full potential, no matter where they start from.

Ever since graduating from UWC Thailand, Sei-kashe has held a very firm belief–it doesn’t matter what culture you grew up in, what language you spoke at home, what religion you call mother… Every human has the capacity to listen, understand, break bread, find home and build life lasting relationships and communities with others. She sees her experiences in UWC and upbringing in Zimbabwe as foundational for a personal compass grounded in a deep sense of respect and home to community, friends and culture. And these beliefs have carried her through life and how she views effective development initiatives as she builds her career in the continent.

She was the first cohort to graduate as part of the official UWC global community. After completing her time in Thailand, she went on to the United States and completed her Bachelors of Arts International Relations at Pomona College and after, her Masters in Public Policy at Yale University’s Jackson School of Public Policy. Currently, she is an External Affairs Analyst at Lwala Community Alliance, a community-led health nonprofit in western Kenya, where she works at the intersection of communications, research, and learning.  Outside work, she is a freelance illustrator and children’s book writer. The books currently published are her own book Wekumusha, and The Other Side of Small, which she illustrated for Nigerian writer Yejide Kilanko