UNCG International Alumni Spotlight: Winnie Mwayi
Stepping onto the UNC Greensboro campus from Nairobi, Kenya, in 2021, Winnie Mwayi ’22 MPA, was ready to try everything. The international graduate student working towards her master’s of public administration (MPA) was coming from a career in management consulting and knew this was her chance to grow academically, professionally, and personally.
“I treated going back to school as a sabbatical. I wanted to explore and experience everything,” Mwayi says. “I took all these opportunities that came up, from my internships, working with the International Programs Center (IPC), and the Spartan Day of Service, I made so many friends.”
Three months into the program, she lost her father and turned to her UNCG professors and community for support.
“My professors, my classmates, the MPA, it’s like a family,” she says. “They were amazing and super supportive. That was the highlight of the program for me.
She seized the opportunity to immerse herself in American culture while working towards her degree, even attending Thanksgiving dinner with Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. She volunteered to help clean up the Greensboro greenway and jumped on internships with Cone Health and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. The center is a strategic policy institute that informs and shifts public policies. Mwayi was an HR intern, providing support for recruiting, onboarding, and training.
“I learned about the inner workings of a nonprofit organization,” she says. “It was amazing to support projects that directly influence public policy outcomes, critical issues like health, income, security, SNAP tax credits, and Medicaid at federal and state levels. It was eye-opening.”
“Stay curious. Network. Get involved to enhance your understanding of real-world challenges and potential solutions.”
– Winnie Mwayi, MPA ’22
Mwayi currently holds a position as a research assistant with the Carolina Population Center (CPC) in Chapel Hill. She’s working on a long-term project with the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, or Add Health, analyzing population dynamics.
“We’re working to understand how and why populations change over time,” she says. “We explore the causes of health and health-related behaviors, health disparities among a large nationally representative cohort of Americans who are aging into midlife. It’s interesting because it’s a cohort that’s been followed and studied since they were in middle and high school for over 20 years. Now they’re well into midlife, it’s interesting. My role is in data analysis, communication, and preparation of reports, presentations, and infographics.”
Mwayi says that her experience with the MPA program at UNCG prepared her for her current role in ways she couldn’t have imagined.
“The comprehensive education and supportive faculty provided me with a strong foundation for what I’m doing right now. The coursework challenged me to think critically. The opportunities for practical experience helped me to apply theoretical knowledge into a real-world context,” she says. “I definitely recommend the program to other international students. There’s always going to be support for you.”
Mwayi’s most ardent advice for other international students considering UNCG: “Stay curious. Network. Get involved to enhance your understanding of real-world challenges and potential solutions.”
Story by Alice Manning Touchette
Photography courtesy of Winnie Mwayi
additional photography by Lynn Hey
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