2005 Press Releases

ZIM STUDENT TRIUMPHS

(28/12/2004)

Pulling off academic excellence is no easy task.  It takes determination and hard work!

One of the 95 such prolific Scholars selected for the 2005 Rhodes Scholarships at the University of Oxford in England is Zimbabwe’s very own academic prodigy, Tafadzwa Muguwe!  Currently a senior at Swarthmore College in the United States, Muguwe joins former United States President Bill Clinton as Rhodes Scholars.

 

Muguwe (22) will study for a Master of Science in Pharmacology at Oxford from October 2005, after completing a Bachelors Degree in Biology at Swarthmore College in May 2005.

 

At the completion of the one-year program at Oxford, Muguwe will return to the United States to complete MD and PhD programs in medical studies.  He has already satisfied the pre-medical requirements.

 

“I would like to research and understand how the HIV virus functions in a human cell.  The more we understand the virus, this will set up better chances of creating a more focused and successful treatment of the virus,” Muguwe explained in an interview in Harare recently.

 

Born in Gweru, in a family of six, Muguwe is the first born.  His father died in 1997, leaving his mother as the sole breadwinner.  Although her mother is a lecturer at Mkoba Teachers College, Muguwe said her mother’s income was only just enough to see them through grade school and high school.

 

“I was lucky to enroll and complete six years of study at Kutama High School, where I was one of the few students to qualify for the United States Embassy Public Affairs Section-sponsored U. S. Student Achievers Program (USAP) in September, 2000,” Muguwe said.

 

Muguwe’s accomplishment is a great endorsement for the United States Student Achievers Program (USAP).  The Program was established in 1999 with the strong belief that all talented Zimbabweans, regardless of economic background, should have equal access to the admissions process to colleges and universities that offer merit-based international student financial aid.  Since its inception, USAP has placed 88 highly talented, economically disadvantaged Zimbabwean students on full scholarships at highly selective colleges and universities in the United States.

 

Recently, Muguwe met with United States Ambassador Christopher Dell and was presented with a book present.  Ambassador Dell holds a Masters Degree from the University of Oxford.