Alumni Profiles
Aline Niyonkuru couldn't speak English when she arrived at the Penn State Mont Alto campus in 2001, but she learned the language quickly, and after transferring to University Park in 2005 she graduated in 2007 with a B.A. in International Politics and a minor in Civic and Community Engagement.
Burundi Education and Duhindikibiri Projects
Aline Niyonkuru, second place winner in the Public Scholarship Division of the 2007 Undergraduate Exhibition, applies her work in International Politics and Civic and Community Engagement to economic and social change in Burundi. Aline promotes development through Burundian youth education and by helping women to become active decision-makers in their communities. Students who learn English in the Burundi Education Project (BEP) have increased access to higher education. Hutu and Tutsi women working together in the Duhindikibiri Project have enhanced agricultural production and economic development. Working together, they have fostered ethnic reconciliation. Aline’s scholarship-based contributions to the education, development, and leadership skills of Burundian youth and women offer the hope of a sustainable positive impact on Burundi’s fragile democracy.
Burundi Education Project – New Educational Opportunity
Duhindikibiri Project – Hope for Sustainable Democracy