Alice abiya - yannick zanfack

 In 2009 CELD had the first Mkwayi Fellow from Cameroon, Alice Abiya. She is from a small village, Douala, in Cameroon which is on the west coast of Africa.

As a young woman she attended a Nike sponsored basketball camp in her area. After participating in the camp for a couple of years she caught the eye of one of the instructors. This person represented a network of schools in the U.S. He recruited Alice to play high-school basketball as a junior at St. Ann’s in Charlottesville, Virginia. She transferred her senior year to play at St. Francis Academy in Baltimore, Maryland.

After graduation from high school she was recruited to play basketball at Garrett College. CELD partnered with the College and others in the community and supported her while she attended Garrett College. 

Alice graduated from Garrett College in August 2011 and was awarded the "Most Inspirational Student" award.  She was accepted to California University of Pennsylvania where she was a member of the women’s basketball team, ranked 5th in the nation at the time. 

In spite of a number of hurdles confronting her, Alice Abiya successfully completed two years of study at California University of Pennsylvania. She majored in international studies with a concentration in international business. She also completed the requirements for two minors — one in Spanish and one in art.  Alice received a full tuition scholarship from the University which was automatically renewed for her senior year because she attained a 2.9 GPA.  She graduated with her class in May 2013.

Alice's passion in art determined her path after college.  She opened her own business selling her art.

In 2012 Yannick Zanfack, also from Cameroon, entered Garrett College.  He was on the men’s basketball team.  He too became a Mkwayi Fellow. 

Yannick has been in the United States since April 2010. He attended high school in Hagerstown, Maryland before coming to Garrett College in September 2012. Yannick performed very well on his placement exams and enrolled in calculus, chemistry, physics and other core requirements. Based on his placement scores, Yannick started in the top 10 percent of the student body academically. 

He started his studies in engineering but switched to mathematics and science. He graduated from Garrett College in May 2014. He  graduated from the University of Maryland where he received his degree in Design. Yannick is currently a product designer in San Francisco, California.