In addition, she also became the college’s first international graduate fellow to complete a remote placement, working with Princeton University’s Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES).
“She is also the first e graduate fellow from anywhere outside of the US who has completed a fully remote fellowship”, Dr Audrey Falk, Professor and Director of the Community Engagement Program at Merrimack College. said.
Reflecting on what motivated her to take on this cross-continental challenge, Khanyi shares, “I wanted to unfurl my dreams and overcome obstacles I didn’t even know existed.”
After more than a decade in higher education Khanyi’s learning journey wove together academic inquiry, professional experience, and global collaboration and she found herself drawn to return to study.
With no community engagement-focused and named qualification available locally, she began searching internationally. A Google search led her to Merrimack’s program, and with the steady support of Dr Falk, she enrolled and later joined the fellowship program at Princeton.
But the journey wasn’t without its challenges.
“The journey was tough, and I had to be tougher,” Khanyi recalls.
“As a remote student, I had to navigate crazy time zones. being fully awake and present (audio and video) in classes that started at 1 am or 2 am (depending on daylight savings), in South Africa, and during loadshedding! And then having to be again fully present and engaged at work a few hours later. It was character building!”
Still, she managed to thrive, contributing actively to coursework, fellowship duties, and full-time responsibilities at Mandela University.
In her fellowship role with Princeton’s ProCES office, she supported the development of a new engagement-tracking platform. Dr Tania Boster, Director of ProCES, noted.
“She was a thoughtful contributor with a strong understanding of higher education and community dynamics.”
Khanyisa’s ability to apply her experience in real time helped build bridges between institutions on two continents.
In class, she brought a South African lens to the shared learning space, sparking meaningful reflection and exchange.
“Khanyi’s questions and insights often shifted the way we looked at things,” said Dr Falk.
“She encouraged us to reflect more deeply and think more broadly.”
Her capstone project, “Discovering Stories that Matter,” explored how storytelling, grounded in Appreciative Inquiry and strengths-based approaches, can support NGO staff reflection, learning, and resilience.
She designed a workshop model aimed at helping practitioners process and learn from their experiences through narrative, especially in resource-constrained contexts.
The project drew from her experience in the non-profit sector and echoed her long-standing belief that stories are more than tools for reporting, they are tools for connection and meaning making.
Now, Khanyi is focused on expanding her writing and research voice. “It’s my happy space,” she says. “Studying again helped me reconnect with the work I care deeply about.” Her journey stands as a reminder of what’s possible when commitment, creativity, and community come together, across time zones, borders, and disciplines.
Link to ScholarWorks website: https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/soe_student_ce/124