From Tanzania to Tech: Expanding Access to Global Opportunity

When Rosalia Mwidege (Tanzania, UWC East Africa, Princeton University ’26) arrived at Princeton from Mbeya, Tanzania, she intended to major in economics. With encouragement from UWC and Princeton friends, she switched to computer science—a field she’d never studied—and hasn’t looked back.

“My time at Princeton has been both wonderful and memorable, thanks to the strong community of UWC scholars and the diverse opportunities I have been able to explore,” Rosalia says.

She joined the Princeton Africa Summit, helping raise $30,000 for a venture competition supporting Africa-founded startups. After her first year, she participated in a Global Seminar at Maseno University in Kenya, then returned to Tanzania to interview young Tanzanians with international education exposure. Their stories inspired her book “Dare to Dream Big,” a practical guide for students pursuing global opportunities that has sold over 400 copies across Tanzania.

Rosalia secured internships with Intuit Credit Karma and joined Girls Who Invest, gaining knowledge in investment management and accounting. Most recently, she interned at Microsoft as a software engineering intern in Core AI, building a pipeline for detecting customer content from backend logs.

Beyond campus, she works with Ishara, a Ghanaian plastic recycling initiative, helping build a blockchain platform to track waste collection and recycling processes.

“None of my experiences would have been possible without the generous support of the Davis Scholar Program,” she reflects. “Today, I feel ready to make a meaningful difference in the world.”

This profile is part of the “Undergraduates in Action” series from the 2026 Annual Report