Lwandle Dlamini
Richter Project
Mapping Diversity
Academic Interests
Social sciences, humanities, and politics pique my intellectual curiosity most. Currently, I am particularly interested in scholarship on the decolonization of institutions and education curricula, the empowerment of African nations and cultures, restorative justice, black feminist thought, and the dynamics of generational trauma in the black community.
Hometown
Mbabane, Eswatini
High School
Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa
Co-curricular
On-campus, I am a member of the African student group, Umoja, and have been recently selected to be part of the Executive Board as a Public Relations Officer. I am also a tutor at the Writing Center. Outside of school, when I am out literally anywhere this summer, I'll most likely have my photography and film cameras with me. I play netball and am also slowly building myself into a "gym girlie." In my free time, I draw and practice makeup skills for fun, turning my eyebrows into all the rainbow's colors. I nourish my mind with the cultural points of the Gen-Z metaverse on TikTok.
My Dream Job
If I am being frank, I am still figuring that out. I fancy myself someone who enjoys interdisciplinary work, so I hope to have a career that allows me to be flexible and integrate my interests. Ideally, if I can be involved in a job that incorporates social justice work, creative arts, and branding, I would be thrilled. More specifically, I want to be involved in social and political empowerment in the African context.
What do you hope to learn from your Richter experience this summer?
I aim to learn more about my areas of study and how to set up effective and thorough research frameworks. I want to learn more about how the data I will be working with is coded and how different types of coding templates are applied depending on the context of the project. Moreover, I hope to gain more perspective on how a timeline for an independent project is determined and the way tasks are delegated and handled. Additionally, I strive to gain more knowledge on event planning and the minute details involved in executing successful logistical work.
The Richter Scholar Program affords me the first, serious opportunity in my formal education to learn more about subjects of special interest to me. It will allow me to explore grey areas in which ideas, problems, and solutions converge. I find this particularly important because the social sciences tend to deal with real-world issues and, whilst it is important to theorize the varieties of human interaction and how it impacts and frames our societies, learning how to apply theories to affect tangible policy change or action is of critical importance.