Jenna van de Ruit
UWC South East Asia, 2009-2011
UWC Zimbabwe students are committed to making a difference, which happens in many ways.
Some have left UWC to pursue specialist training and education. Others have set up initiatives, charities and businesses based on projects they founded at UWC. Others have channelled their confidence and commitment into ideas that make a real difference to communities, or challenge injustice.
UWC helps every student understand that their ambitions are possible. And offers the support, guidance and a global network to make their ideas a reality.
For over 60 years, UWC graduates have experienced many different careers across a variety of sectors, world wide and contributed to their communities, creating initiatives that make a difference.
Find out more about our former UWC Zimbabwe students and the impact they have had and continue to have globally.
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Jenna van de Ruit
UWC South East Asia, 2009-2011
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.
Prince Bashangezi
Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA, 2021-2022
Prince Bashangezi
Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA, 2021-2022
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.