From Maamba to Cambridge

Kabungo Yanick Mulumba ’15 speaks with a rich accent, a result of years of speaking Sub-Saharan Bantu dialects such as Nyanja, and wears a bright, easy smile that belies an inner seriousness.

“I knew Harvard is big,” he says, “but when I stepped on campus, the magnitude struck me. I could see it is very different from the largest university in Zambia.”

To say that Mulumba has had more to adapt to than the average Harvard freshman would be a major understatement—in fact, it is hard to imagine two cities with less in common than Cambridge, MA, and Maamba, Zambia, the small mining town in the southern region of the country that he calls home.

Mulumba is the only student from Zambia, a country of almost 13 million people, currently enrolled in the College. As there is only one other Zambian enrolled at Harvard, a student at the Divinity School, Mulumba’s journey, and motivations for embarking on that journey, stand out as remarkable even on a highly diverse and multicultural campus.

“My long term goal is to become a specialist, most likely a neurosurgeon,” says Mulumba, and his ambition to become a doctor is far from unique among Harvard students. But unlike most of his fellow pre-meds, Mulumba hopes to practice in a Zambian hospital, putting his practice in a Zambian hospital, putting his newly acquired skills to work in a setting where he feels they are urgently needed.

While in 2010 the World Bank named Zambia one of the world’s fastest reforming countries in terms of its economy, its health care situation remains dire. The county’s per capita GDP is around $1,500, according to the International Monetary Fund (compared to about $45,000 in the U.S.), making it very difficult for the average citizen to afford private care. And according to the British Broadcasting Company, the country’s doctor-to-citizen ratio is approximately one to 14,000, as opposed to one to 600 in the United Kingdom, for example.

But inspired by the example of his father, a doctor in Zambia, Mulumba hopes to use his Harvard education to combat the health problems that pervade his home country.

Mulumba’s journey to Harvard and post-graduation ambitions embody the University’s goal of attracting a highly international and globally conscious student body, composed of individuals who bring their unique cultural viewpoint to Harvard, and know first-hand just how much the developing world needs their help.

THE ODYSSEY

Making Mulumba’s story even more uncommon is the fact that two years ago, he had no intention of studying in America. Mulumba, like many international students applying to college in the U.S., experienced many logistical challenges, such as immigration and visa procedures, in addition to SAT and application fees that can be prohibitively expensive.

Despite being a star student at one of the most prestigious high schools in Zambia, volunteering extensively in a hospital, and leading his local Red Cross Club, Mulumba’s road to college in America was long indeed.

A critical ally along that road was the United States Achievers Program (USAP), an organization that works with the U.S. Embassy to help top students in economically disadvantaged areas apply to American colleges.

The Zambian branch of the program, though only operational since 2009, is already flooded with interest—last year it was able to accept only 16 out of 160 applicants.

“Students like Yanick are what Zambia really needs,” says Patricia Madigan, director of USAP Zambia. “Harvard’s system is hugely welcoming to international students, and getting these kids a U.S. education really enables them to be leaders.”

Mulumba, the second of five children, says his family supported his weighty decision and is extremely excited that he is at Harvard, despite missing him.

“We’re praying for him, and hope that he is well,” says his father, Dr. Kabungo Mulumba. “Even though he’s so far from home, we know how important his studies are.”

JUMPING IN HEADFIRST

Unlike some international students, Mulumba has the advantage of having spoken English all his life—nevertheless, there were an abundance of opportunities for culture shock when he first arrived on campus.

“Annenberg food is...” he paused before continuing, “very different,” says Mulumba with a laugh, citing home-cooked Zambian food such as nshima, a popular cornmeal dish, as something he misses most. But a change in diet was just the beginning of the adaptations he has faced.

Across the board, academic life at Harvard has been a dramatic departure from his classes back home.

“Math here is much more than just calculations—there’s lots of conceptual and analytical work, too,” says Mulumba, a potential Molecular and Cellular Biology concentrator.

And while he describes his workload as “challenging,” he says he is on the whole doing well in the face of a slew of massive transitions both cultural and intellectual.

He also finds time for several extracurricular activities, such as volunteering for a Peer Health Exchange group with the Phillip Brooks House Association.

He attributes some of his success to Harvard’s academic support resources, saying “there’s always someone willing to help,” such as his freshman academic advisor, Professor of Biochemistry Guido Guidotti.

“It’s important that students have someone who will listen,” says Guidotti, an immigrant himself, who came to the U.S. from Italy in the 1950s.

“But Yanick has the energy and vigor to do things that are directed towards others, and that counts for a great deal.”

A HOME AWAY FROM HOME

As foreign as life at Harvard initially seemed to Mulumba, he says that student groups and advisors have done much to make him feel welcome.

When it comes to helping international students ease into their new environment, University organizations like the Freshman International Program and the Harvard International Office have established a diverse set of resources.

For example, the Harvard African Students Association hosts a weekly dinner, complete with African food, that Mulumba says helps to foster a feeling of community despite the absence of other Zambian students.

Chisom M. Okpala ’15, the only Nigerian student in her class and freshman representative of HASA, has been friends with Mulumba since they both joined USAP.

“Everyone has been so welcoming, so friendly,” says Okpala. “We have a really wide support community.”

For example, Okpala says that African freshman were given a $175 clothing stipend to help them cope with Harvard’s harsh winters, and that she has received personal messages from her Resident Dean of Freshman, Catherine Shapiro, asking about her well-being.

Okpala describes her feelings about being an African student as a mixture of pressure and pride. “I know so much is on me, given this incredible opportunity,” she says.

She also emphasized the role that Mulumba’s roots have played in his desire to become a doctor, explaining that, “When you’ve seen that much suffering and morbidity in your home country, it motivates you and helps you focus, because you know you have so much to contribute,” says Okpala.

But intense future goals aside, Mulumba is able for the moment to simply enjoy the experience of being a freshman at Harvard.

He is free to be his gregarious, inquisitive self, and says he is becoming increasingly at home on campus, regardless of how alien it first seemed.

“Harvard is the best place to be,” says Mulumba, flashing a wide grin. “You have so many opportunities, and so many people who are willing to help you