Coming from a family whose members all attained higher education, Shingi Mavima was disheartened by the educational inequality that many Zimbabwean children faced. He then decided to take action by helping out these children.

Mavima, a Penn State School of International Affairs (SIA) 2012 alumnus, is now an author and non-profit founder.

While a student at Penn State, Mavima founded CLUBHOUSE International in 2011. CLUBHOUSE is headquartered in Zimbabwe and focuses on rejuvenating communities, encouraging academics, sports, community service, and citizenship. In 2015, he also published a book of his poems relating to his experiences growing up in Africa. He says both endeavors were possible because of his time at SIA.

Since founding the organization, Mavima has worked with the expertise of others to develop CLUBHOUSE International and implement programs to help the younger Zimbabwean population. However, he specifically credits SIA professors Dennis Jett, and Tiyanjana Maluwa, as well as his classmates, with giving him strategies and ideas in implementing and realizing his goal of helping his Zimbabwean community and supporting his poetry.He remembers his professors fondly and recalls that they were supportive in his poetry writing. In 2015, Mavima published his first book of poems, The Mirage of Days Old, which is an anthology of poems covering Pan-Africanism, heartbreaks, source of AIDS, domestic violence, and personal tragedy.

Read more about Shingi Mavima's story at https://sia.psu.edu/news/graduate-credits-sia-successes