Aisha Kamara

First in Her Family to Reach University

19 years old · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Aisha’s parents emigrated from Sierra Leone with the dream that their children would access the education they never had. But when financial hardship hit during Aisha’s senior year, college seemed impossibly out of reach.

“I watched my classmates get acceptance letters while I was calculating how many shifts I’d need at the grocery store to help with rent,” Aisha remembers.

The HerVoice Education Fund covered her first year of tuition at Temple University, where she’s now pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering. She maintains a 3.8 GPA and volunteers as a STEM tutor for middle school girls.

“They said girls like me don’t become engineers. I’m proving them wrong — and bringing others with me.”