By Dave DeFusco
When Katz School graduate student Sinokhuthaba Sibanda talks about her passion for digital marketing, she starts with something deeper than analytics or brand strategy: the need to help people access the right information. Before coming to New York to study in the Katz School’s M.S in Digital Marketing and Media, she trained in development studies and worked in humanitarian outreach across rural communities in Zimbabwe, supporting young girls, distributing sanitary supplies and working with organizations serving people in remote areas.
“For me, it’s always been about getting people the information they need about health, human rights, climate change—anything that can help them live better,” she said. “Digital marketing is just another way of reaching people. It lets you share those messages with a wider audience.”
That same instinct for connection is what drew her to One to World, a New York City–based global leadership and cultural exchange program for international students. One to World, she said, became “a home,” a place where people not only listened to her stories but wanted to understand them.
“When people are ready to listen and are fascinated by your background, that makes you feel you belong,” she said. “I love telling stories, but you don’t always get the audience. At One to World, I did.”
Through One to World’s Global Classroom, Sibanda began presenting about Zimbabwe—its 16 languages, its diversity and, most of all, her Ndebele heritage.
“People think Africa is a country,” she said. “I always explain that it’s made up of many nations—more than 50. And I show them my tribe’s wedding attire and history. I want them to see who we are.”
Standing in front of American classrooms also helped her grow. She worried students wouldn’t understand her accent. Instead, they asked thoughtful questions, complimented her clarity and encouraged her confidence. One student even told her: “You should start a podcast. People would love your voice.”
She hopes that she will one day. She wants to use digital storytelling to tackle topics that are still taboo in some African homes: gender issues, mental health and cultural norms that, she said, hold people back. “There are no obstacles to talking about these things in the United States,” she said. “Back home, it can be harder. But those are the conversations our societies need.”
Her biggest lesson from One to World is to never judge someone based on their background. “When you really listen to people’s cultures,” she said, “you realize we’re all one but just shaped by different geographies.”
Across the Katz School community, that same spirit has guided Monika Shirke, a classmate of Sibanda’s in the digital marketing program, who presented her workshop “Global Citizenship in Practice: Culture, Identity & Shared Responsibility” as a One to World global guide. Her sessions challenged students to reflect on how culture shapes one's perspective, what global citizenship means and how traditions, from Diwali to American holidays, can adapt to support sustainability. From asking students to locate India on a map to debating whether cultural practices should evolve for climate action, Shirke created experiences that blended diplomacy, storytelling and global awareness.
Her time with One to World, she said, strengthened her public speaking, deepened her understanding of cultural diplomacy, and helped her feel part of a multicultural community that mirrored New York itself. “The team at One To World represents the spirit of the city,” she said. “People from different countries working in harmony.”
For Franklin Mangwaira, a student in the M.S. Biotechnology Management and Entrepreneurship, One to World offered something he had always loved doing back home in Zimbabwe: speaking to young people, raising awareness and sharing perspectives across cultures.
He joined as a global guide to improve his presentation skills in a new environment, and discovered that his voice carried more impact than he expected. “I didn’t know students would remember me months later,” he said. “But I received gift cards with notes saying what they learned from my presentation. That touched me the most.”
In classrooms across New York City, Mangwaira, who is president of the Katz School Student Association, teaches students about Zimbabwe’s flag, wildlife, culture and heritage. Their reactions often surprise him: disbelief that African countries have modern universities, shock that Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world or fascination with the baobab trees that can live more than a thousand years.
He also tackles difficult topics, like poverty and child marriage, carefully using global and U.S. data to show how widespread the issue is and its effect on young children. Students, he said, were stunned to learn the practice exists in parts of America, too. His experience at One to World reinforced something he had long believed: “You might come from a small country,” he said, “but you still have the power to make the world a safe place for everyone.”
