Washington College is proud to announce a special evening event with educator, motivational speaker, and award-wining author Dr. Tererai Trent, whose work to break the cycle of poverty and gender inequity in her native Zimbabwe has inspired people the world over. Dr. Trent will discuss her new book, The Awakened Woman: A Guide for Remembering and Igniting Your Sacred Dreams, which received the 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work and includes a rare forward from Oprah Winfrey. Heather Mizeur of #WeAreOne Alliance will moderate the talk.
Dr. Trent will sign books starting at 4:00 p.m. and then grace the Decker Theater’s stage in Washington College’s Gibson Center for the Arts at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5. The event is free and open to the public. A public reception will follow the talk. More information is available via #WeAreOne Alliance here.
Rooted in humble beginnings, Tererai grew up in a cattle-herding family in rural Zimbabwe, in a country known as Rhodesia under colonial rule, where cultural practices and a war that liberated her country charted the course of her life. Due to traditional women’s roles and cultural norms, Tererai did not have the opportunity to go to school. Undeterred, she still dreamed of an education and determinedly taught herself to read and write from her brother’s schoolbooks.
Despite being married young and having four children by the time she was eighteen, she never lost sight of her dreams. As a young mother without a high school diploma, Tererai met a woman who would profoundly impact her life: Jo Luck, president and CEO of Heifer International. She told Tererai, “If you believe in your dreams, they are achievable.” With this inspiration and her own mother’s encouragement, Tererai wrote down her dreams of going to America for higher education, sealed them in a tin can, and buried them under a rock, ultimately redesigning the blueprint of her life.
Dr. Trent could not have imagined that her steadfast determination, hard work, and belief in her dreams would eventually earn her multiple degrees, and a prominent global platform with world leaders and international businesses and audiences where she advocates for universal access to quality education.
A two-time guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Tererai was named by Oprah as her “All-Time Favorite Guest” and received a $1.5 million donation to rebuild her childhood elementary school in recognition of her tenacity and never-give-up attitude. With the firm belief that education is the pathway out of poverty and a desire to give back to her community, Dr. Trent founded Tererai Trent International.
Through strategic partnerships with Oprah Winfrey and Save the Children, Dr. Trent’s mission to provide universal access to quality education while also empowering rural communities is now being realized. Eleven schools are being built in Zimbabwe and education has been improved for over 6,000 children so far.
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