Written by Melinda Rizzo | July 29, 2024 | SHARE
Lehigh University’s Iacocca Institute hosted 25 Mandela Washington Fellows during an intensive six-week program, culminating with a July 26 graduation ceremony.
They came from Angola and Zambia; Togo and Uganda, Senegal, the Seychelles and many other African nations.
Lehigh University’s Iacocca Institute hosted 25 of Africa’s brightest emerging business and community leaders this summer through the Mandela Washington Fellowship. They marked the conclusion of the intensive six-week program with a July 26 graduation ceremony.
Gathering with exuberance and joy at Iacocca Hall’s Wood Dining Room, the graduates “raised the roof” with one powerful, combined voice. One of the Fellows, Binta Diakite of Mali, said she was surprised by how quickly she felt at home at Lehigh and in Bethlehem.
“Because I felt comfortable right away, it contributed to the learning,” Diakite said. “It made the group like a family.”
The Mandela Washington Fellowship has brought young emerging African leaders and entrepreneurs to the United States annually since 2014, providing a unique chance to collaborate with Americans and each other at 28 institutions across the country. Lehigh has hosted the Fellows nearly every year since 2017.
“I have been humbled, energized, and astounded by your energy, warmth, and love,” Bruce Whitehouse, Assistant Director of Global Studies and Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at Lehigh, said during the graduation ceremony. “Lehigh will never be the same.”
Immediately following the graduation ceremony, Lehigh’s Fellows joined their peers from other institutions for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit in Washington, D.C. They participated in various sessions and networking events and met with government agency members and others.
Mariam Nakigude, a Fellow from Uganda who participated in the Lehigh program, was selected by her Lehigh peers to speak at the Washington, D.C. summit. She spoke about the importance of innovation and collaboration and said the Iacocca Institute challenged them to think boldly, question the status quo, and transform their ideas into impactful actions.
“Our time together has been a testament to the power of leadership—not just in guiding others, but in inspiring change,” Nakigude said. “We have learned that true leaders lead with both vision and compassion, and we have been empowered to make a lasting difference in our communities.”
Mandela Washington Fellows are aged 25 to 35, and those in Lehigh’s program are among 700 participants nationwide. While the Fellows hail from different nations and experiences, their intensive program involvement could shape their future business perspectives, trajectories, and worldviews.
“[This program] was transformative to bring me value for thoughtful strategies and for enabling diversity,” said Mandela Washington Fellow Goodboy Groening from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland).
During their time at Lehigh, the Fellows visited sites in Philadelphia and New York City, heard from industry experts, and met with local municipal leaders and advocates to explore the impact of perennial challenges like food and housing insecurity.
“We take on issues happening right here in our community, but we also think about these things in a global context,” said Scott Koerwer, executive director of Lehigh’s Iacocca Institute. “[...] Lehigh does this because it introduces us to critical parts of the world – emerging nations that have challenges we want our students to be able to address that might be different from what we’re experiencing here.”
This year’s Fellows forged strong bonds of friendship and worked together through team-building exercises such as a NASCAR pit crew practice to illustrate the value of teamwork, skills, and communication as some inherent qualities of high-performing cultures.
“A good leader knows their strengths and weaknesses and uses them to inspire and create change,” said Mandela Washington Fellow Florence Nabi, an entrepreneur operating two beauty salons, a spa, and a training center in her home country of Cameroon. She praised the program for promoting entrepreneurship, business leadership, and public management skills.
Twenty-eight institutes across the U.S. represent notably tailored programs. Lehigh specifically focused on leadership in business, while others concentrated on such areas as civic engagement and public management leadership.
Tinotenda Chibvuri, a Lehigh rising junior and international student from Zimbabwe, was a fellowship program coordinator and researcher. He said the biggest surprise from this group was how quickly—and fiercely—they bonded with one another.
“They learned from people here and each other,” Chibvuri said. “They think globally.”
This year’s 700 Fellows join 6,500 Mandela Washington Fellowship alumni since the program’s founding in 2014 by the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). It is funded by the U.S. Government and administered by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), an international nonprofit organization.