Centre scholars unite to bring education advocacy to global stage
The promise of an education that can unlock a brighter future led Bianca Galves Gombos and Rejoice Madembo to Centre College. Their shared passion for helping others brought them together on campus and led to a new startup organization aimed at supporting the next generation of young leaders.
Before Centre, both students launched nonprofit initiatives in their home countries. Galves Gombos, who is from Brazil, and Madembo, who is from Zimbabwe, have worked to promote educational opportunities. Through a new startup dubbed Raizes — Portuguese for “roots” — they hope to empower young people by connecting them with mentors who can share their experience creating positive change in communities around the world.
Galves Gombos serves as founder and executive director while Madembo works alongside her as director for outreach and partnerships for Raizes. The startup is still in its early stages with the newly appointed executive team working to connect with and identify future leaders who could benefit from being a part of the Raizes community.
“The idea is to gather these young people and start to create our own community,” Galves Gombos, class of 2027, said of Raizes’ origins.
“We’re expecting to see a lot of impact in local communities because we’re working with the most remote corners of the world,” she said. “It shows that it doesn’t matter who you are, you can start something within your community... After all, systemic change starts at the local level.”
Galves Gombos and Madembo are working with key partners like the Latin American Leadership Academy to increase Raizes’ reach. They’re hoping to expand their impact through programming like monthly Q&A sessions and drop-in office hours where others can ask experienced changemakers questions about their own projects.
The students are drawing on their own experiences in working to level the educational playing field for those who hail from disadvantaged communities.
Before coming to Centre, Galves Gombos launched two social impact organizations in Brazil: one focused on increasing awareness of sexual health and education, and another that encourages students to engage more critically in the classroom through debates and podcast creation.
In Zimbabwe, Madembo helped found the Genius Ray International Preparatory School, which brings transformational educational opportunities to young people in the capital city of Harare.
Though they grew up on opposite sides of the world, Madembo and Galves Gombos quickly bonded over their shared passion.
“Going from creating change at a national level to international level doesn’t feel like a big change,” Madembo, class of 2028, said. “It actually makes the world feel like a smaller place to me. Access to education is a global issue that Zimbabwe, Brazil and other countries face, and we’re coming together to try and fix it.”
As Galves Gombos strives to be a mentor to others, she has also turned to her mentors and support systems at Centre. Her professors and the lessons she has learned as an International Studies major have empowered her work outside of the classroom. As a Lincoln Scholar, she’s found peers who challenge and encourage her to grow as a leader.
“I’m reminded of why I am studying here and what I am at this institution,” she said. “It’s tough, but I know I’m putting so much hard work into this because I want to learn. I want to apply it in my startup, and I want to impact people.”
For Madembo, Raizes is a way to pay forward the mentorship she’s received and a testament of the good that happens when people work together.
“Both of us have experience directly helping people and this is an opportunity for us to empower other leaders,” said Madembo. “Personally, I’m privileged enough to be around people who are pushing me to make change, but not everyone has that opportunity. We’re trying to give them that chance.”
