USA Collaborations

UMSEAP University of Missouri

My UMSEAP research visit to the University of Missouri (1–30 May 2023) was a meaningful opportunity for cultural exchange, academic dialogue, and intellectual reflection. Although the original plan to collect qualitative data with students did not materialise, the visit allowed me to meet important writing commitments and strengthen my research through sustained engagement with colleagues and students. Collaborating with Professor Antoinette Landor and interacting with a wide network of scholars significantly informed my ongoing work on how young people construct social identities and navigate racial, ethnic, and cultural differences in educational contexts.

The academic engagements were particularly enriching, ranging from delivering a guest lecture to participating in weekly research meetings and attending academic and social events. These formal and informal interactions offered stimulating new perspectives and opened pathways for future collaborations. Conversations with scholars and community members underscored the enduring importance of race in both the U.S. and South Africa, providing fertile ground for comparative inquiry. Cultural highlights such as events at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center and a service at the Second Missionary Baptist Church further deepened my understanding of local experiences and provided profound moments of connection.

The visit also had a lasting influence on my research trajectory. On returning home, I recruited Master’s students to extend scholarship on race, racism, colourism, and prejudice, inspired by the insights gained in Missouri. The experience also catalysed the design of a new multi-country study examining how first-generation Black students navigate transitions into higher education. This emerging initiative promises to contribute to a deeper understanding of the structural and interpersonal challenges students face, while broadening the comparative scope of my research across South Africa, the United States, and beyond.

Photo: This picture was taken in 2014 during a visit to Washington DC, while at West Virginia University as an exchange student.

Department of Black Studies, Portland State University 

My recent visit to the Department of Black Studies at Portland State University was both affirming and generative, offering a unique space for dialogue, exchange, and collaboration. Engaging with colleagues whose work resonates deeply with my own commitments to social justice, decolonial scholarship, and equity in higher education opened up exciting possibilities for comparative inquiry. The discussions I held during my time at PSU underscored the value of cross-national collaboration and the urgency of addressing persistent inequities in student access, retention, and success across diverse educational landscapes.

Following this visit, I was honoured to be selected as an Adjunct Assistant Professor for the Fall Semester 2025. This appointment represents more than a professional milestone, it provides an intellectual home from which to deepen and expand my comparative research on first-generation Black university students in South Africa, Brazil, and the United States. By teaching and conducting research in Portland, I will be uniquely positioned to explore the intersections and divergences in the ways students navigate structural barriers, cultural expectations, and institutional support systems in three distinct but interconnected contexts.

This opportunity will not only advance my scholarship but also enrich my pedagogy and mentoring practice. Being embedded within a U.S.-based Black Studies department will allow me to bring South African and Brazilian perspectives into dialogue with American experiences, fostering new understandings of race, identity, and education in a global frame. Ultimately, this transnational engagement will enable me to contribute more robustly to international debates on higher education equity, and to develop research that both honours local contexts and speaks to broader struggles for student success, belonging, and justice.

International Visit to Washington, D.C

Photo: This picture is me at the Native American Student and Community Center at Portland State University.

Photo: This is me at Portland State University graduation ceremony.

These are images from my visit to Portland, Oregon.