From Long Island to South Africa

When Daniella Kata, BS ‘24 was studying civil engineering at the University at Buffalo, she didn’t expect her degree to take her 8,000 miles from home. She found herself on top of a remote hill in South Africa, where a school for farmers’ children has become a beacon of hope and learning.

“It was definitely a culture shock,” Kata says, reflecting on her time teaching STEM concepts to fourth through seventh graders in the rural community of Makhanda. “You could literally see the divide between the very wealthy and those living in poverty. The school sat apart from everything, kind of secluded, like its own world.”

Thanks in part to donor support through the UB Fund, Kata joined a team of college students leading a weeklong camp designed to ignite curiosity and build confidence in science, technology, engineering, and math. The camp was structured around hands-on stations, each introducing students to different areas of STEM — from health science to robotics to structural engineering, her own specialty.

“It was a lot of fun. But also, a big learning moment,” she says. “When you teach, you learn, especially when you’re breaking complex concepts down for younger kids. I had to really understand the basics of structural engineering in order to explain them clearly.”

She also noticed something else: the energy and engagement from the students. “They really wanted to learn. You could just tell how much they appreciated us being there,” Daniella says. “Not that kids here don’t care. It’s just different. There’s a sense that they knew this kind of opportunity didn’t come around often.”

Experiential opportunities like this one, made possible by philanthropic gifts to the UB Fund, help students apply what they’ve learned in the classroom in powerful and often unexpected ways. For Kata, the experience didn’t change her career path (she’s now working in specialty structures at an engineering firm), but it did expand her sense of purpose.

“It reminded me why I want to teach someday, maybe even internationally,” she says. “And it made me more grateful. Not just for the experience, but for the support that helped make it happen.”

“Thanks to the UB Fund, I got to help kids expand their sense of what’s possible,” she adds. “And in the process, I learned a lot about what’s possible for me, too.”

Empower students like Daniella and learn more about the UB Fund