I recently reread a tribute to Howard W. Jones, Jr. – a “Pioneer of Reproductive Medicine” who died at 104. Jones pushed the boundaries of medicine, and was responsible for the first baby born through in vitro fertilization. But today’s email is not about Dr. Jones at all (despite all of the work he did) – but one of his patients, who arguably made a bigger contribution to science.

Financial literacy is not just important to college students in the United States. Impact Network has partnered with Mwabu and Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSDZ) to deliver a financial education curriculum for both school learners and young women in Zambia.

It wasn’t until two weeks ago that I saw women playing soccer for the first time.  Now, I’m not the biggest soccer fan, but when the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNST) achieved their glorious victory over the Netherlands, I did my due diligence to post it all over social media (in true Millennial fashion).

There is an old saying "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". Learners are not machines, they can lose focus and concentration if extracurricular activities are not incorporated.

On June 18, we had the incredible opportunity of hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony at the recently constructed classroom block at Kanyelele. The much-needed structure was one of three made possible by a grant from the Bayer Fund, with the other two located at Joel and Chadzuma schools.

As an educationalist I am continuously exploring how to improve literacy levels in schools. I wake up in the morning and endlessly ponder what Impact Network can do to ensure that our students are given the best opportunities of learning how to read.

I often lose sight of the bigger picture while going about the business of our work; when I walk into a classroom, I miss the tens of curious, smiling faces for the rigorous inspection of lesson plans, classroom management and time on task.

It’s the beginning of June which means graduation season is wrapping up in the U.S. We’ve taken graduation to a whole new level here -- there are tons of first and last day of school photos flooding social media and every grade now has a graduation

For a few years now, Impact Network has been thinking about what happens to our students as they enter grade 1. For almost the entire class, it’s their first time being in school. They are learning how to hold a pencil, mastering the fine motor skills necessary to write the letter “A”, and learning the alphabet.

Four years ago this month, famed mathematician John Nash was killed along with his wife Alicia Lopez-Harrison de Larde, in a car accident in New Jersey.

As some of you know, I recently got to (finally!) see the Broadway production of Hamilton. As anyone who has seen it can attest – it’s incredible.

Over the past several weeks, I have been fortunate enough to speak with some members of the team at Impact Network. I spoke with Hope Zimba, our Education Program Officer in Sinda-Petauke; Lweendo Maanya, our Head of Operations in Katete; Karly Southworth, our Director of Operations; and Felicia Dahlquist, the Director of Academics and Evaluation.