Thunderbird Share Fellowship

Program’s Founder, Marshall Parke ’77: An Update

Dear T-birds,

Since I graduated from Thunderbird in 1977, I have lived and worked in Asia, Europe, the Mid dle East, and Latin America. In that time, I have consistently encountered successful Thunderbirds using their educations and relationships to build businesses that make an important contribution both globally and locally. Ten years ago, I reached out to a num ber of my classmates with the idea of building a scholarship program that would help outstanding students from some of these emerging economies gain a Thunderbird education and, perhaps equally important, benefit from the support of alumni mentors. We named the program SHARE.

Early on we benefited from four very important breaks: 1. The program resonated with my contemporaries that had similar experiences around the world, and we were able to quickly able to D

raise enough money to place four SHARE Fellows on campus in the first year. 2. We found that there was a segment of alumni that wanted to give back by mentoring students. We quickly built a core mentor group that brings passionate leadership to the program today. 3. We had the tremendous good luck to connect with Maria Houle ’87, the SHARE program director on campus, a 1989 T-bird with a suc cessful career in international banking who wanted to return home to Arizona to raise her daughter, and 4. Thunderbird gave us unwavering support. Since the program’s in ception, we have brought 53 Fellows into the SHARE program, and they have far exceeded our expecta tions. As an added value, we have received consistent feedback from the School that the diversity and strength of the SHARE Fellows is an important contributor in the class rooms. The Fellows’ enthusiasm has carried us all along.

Recently, I was asked to speak at the Thunderbird convocation for the graduating class of 2017. The evening before the graduation we held a din ner for the SHARE Fellows and had a chance to speak with each one. They have big powerful ambitions that are well-conceived and ready for action. What struck me most was their maturi ty and their warmth, and the steely determination that it took to bring them to our doors. It’s no surprise that when they leave Thunderbird, they go off to accomplish remarkable achievements. Earlier this year, with the help of the School, we began to explore how to fund a broader program, and I’m pleased to report an excellent start. This year a number of our very senior alumni from around the world have joined me to provide funding for the next stage of the SHARE story. We want to put more Fellows on campus, achieve more diversity, and provide more support.

I ask that you consider joining me and help provide the education and support that will allow SHARE Fellows to expand and realize their ambitions. Over the next ten years, we would like to see 100 Fellows come through the SHARE program. Since we started the program, we’ve earned the support from over 40 alumni contributors and countless mentors who have helped us transform SHARE Fellows from stu dents into global leaders. There is so much more we can do, and I know we can accomplish, thanks to the support of the Thunderbird community. I think we are on to something special, and I look forward to the coming years.

A remarkable and diverse group of new SHARE Fellows arrived on campus this August. All have had impressive internships or jobs and have viable professional goals ranging from general management within a multinational, to entrepreneurship through disruptive technology, to development/ social impact work directly with their home regions. • Lemmy Gitahi from Kenya is licensed pilot with experience in real estate development • Rexcel Lagare from the Philippines is an accountant and consultant with an (EY) Ernst and Young affiliate Thunderbird Welcomes the 2017-2018 SHARE Cohort A

• Madit Yel from South Sudan grew up as a refugee in Cairo and has just graduated from ASU as a MasterCard Scholar Irene Kinyaguli from a “bottom billion” family in Tanzania will also be joining us from ASU’s MasterCard Scholar program •

Han Zhang from Beijing is already heading up his own e-commerce startup and will be running it while a student at Thunderbird Annie Wambita from Kenya is a marketing specialist who was vetted and recommended by the Thunder bird East Africa alumni chapter.

Past and Present: A Closer Look at the SHARE Fellows

LILIAN MRAMBA ’10 (TANZANIA) SHARE Fellow Lilian Mramba from Tanzania graduated magna cum laude from the University of Idaho in 2004 with a bach elor’s degree in Accounting and Finance. After a five-year career with Moss Adams LLP as a Business Assurance Manager, she decided to follow a dream to contribute to the economic growth of her home region. She enrolled at Thunderbird with the specific goal of engaging in the private sector development of East Africa, making her a perfect fit for the aims and offerings of the SHARE Fellowship. While at Thunderbird, Lilian completed a sum mer internship as an MBA Associate with the African Development Bank in Tunisia where she analyzed investment opportunities and project proposals. Through her own personal networking efforts and with the support of SHARE mentors, she learned about the Grassroots Business Fund which provides capital and support to high-impact businesses that provide opportunities to low income people. Lilian initially accepted a position with GBF in Nairobi as an Investment Offi cer, and has been promoted through the ranks to her current position directing their investment strategy in Africa as Regional Director. Lilian has not only contributed to SHARE financially but has mentored other SHARE Fellows and serves on Thunderbird’s TELC board. Additionally, she serves as a mentor to students in the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program through their social learning platform, Baobab.

MADIT YEL ’20 (SOUTH SUDAN) Madit Yel is a current SHARE Fellow who entered the MAGAM program this fall. Originally from war-torn South Sudan, he spent 11 years as a refugee in Cairo, Egypt, and eventually secured a scholarship to study in South Africa. From Johannesburg, he was awarded a MasterCard Foundation Schol arship to Arizona State University, where he attended the prestigious Barrett Honors College, and earned a dual bachelor’s degree in Public Service and Public Policy and Economics.

Madit notes that the South Sudanese diaspora has shown a great dedication to supporting families and communities back home, albeit at small levels. His dream is to engage and unite the financial and human resources of the diaspora to create lasting impact on a larger scale. In the long term, he believes that “A prosperous and peaceful South Sudan should be a regional and global model of success whose story could be replicated elsewhere to achieve similar development objectives.” In order to achieve these goals, Madit has held several internships including with the Omidyar Network (Global impact investment), Educa tion USA (US foreign affairs education) and In On Africa (development research.) He has also held leadership positions including President of the African Student Association at ASU. Now at Thunderbird, Madit is looking forward to networking and collaborating with T-Birds and others who are creating positive impact around the world.