Dina Nkurunziza was six years old when her family moved from Tanzania to Denver, and she recalls feeling isolated and different from her peers. She instantly found a community and a space to be herself, though, when she joined Breakthrough Kent Denver in the sixth grade.
Since then, Dina and her family have helped East African families settle in when they moved to Colorado. Dina says, “It’s important for us to do this because when you’re new, you need something to help you feel welcome. For me, that was Breakthrough.”
Dina has graduated from Breakthrough’s program and will be attend CU Boulder in the fall on a full-ride scholarship. Before she heads back into the classroom as a student, though, Dina will spend the summer serving as a Breakthrough teaching fellow. She says she is looking forward to teaching, “But more than anything, I can’t wait for them to see how amazing this community can be.”
We’re so happy for Dina and wish her the best of luck as a teaching fellow and college student!
Read more about Dina’s story and Breakthrough Kent Denver’s full newsletter here.
June 2019
Image courtesy of Breakthrough Kent Denver
