Conversations with Zawadi Pilipili

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zawadi Pilipili.

Hi Zawadi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania to Congolese parents from the Bembe tribe (Babembe Tribe) before my family was resettled to the United States through UNHCR in 2010. I’m the youngest of nine children, eight girls and one boy, so growing up, life was never quiet. My siblings were my first best friends, my first teammates, and my first community. Even though we didn’t have much, I never felt like we had nothing because people always found ways to show up for one another. Looking back, I think that’s where my love for community really started. When my father passed away, my mom became everything for our family. She raised nine kids with so much faith, strength, and love that, honestly, I didn’t realize how incredible she was until I got older. She believed education could change the direction of our lives long before I understood what that really meant. She never let our circumstances become our identity, and because of her, I learned that serving other people isn’t something you do after you’ve become successful. It’s something you choose every day, no matter what you have.

Moving to the United States opened doors my family had prayed for, but it also meant starting over in so many ways. As a first-generation college student, I didn’t grow up knowing what office hours were, how to network, what a fellowship was, or why internships mattered so much. I learned by watching other people, asking questions, introducing myself to strangers, and sometimes embarrassing myself a little. There were plenty of moments when I thought, “Everyone else knows what they’re doing except me.” Looking back, I smile because I know now that almost everyone feels that way at some point. One thing that changed my college experience was simply saying yes. Yes to introducing myself. Yes to applying even when I wasn’t sure I’d get selected. Yes to attending conferences where I knew no one. Yes to asking someone if they would mentor me. Those small decisions completely changed the direction of my life. They led to internships, scholarships, leadership opportunities, friendships, and mentors who continue to pour into me today. They also helped me realize that opportunities don’t always go to the most qualified person. Sometimes they go to the person who was willing to raise their hand.

As more opportunities started finding me, I couldn’t stop thinking about the students who weren’t seeing them. Every week I came across scholarships, internships, conferences, fellowships, and leadership programs that could completely change someone’s future, yet so many students around me had never even heard about them. I kept asking myself, “What if someone just shared them in one place?” At the same time, I felt God gently reminding me that the opportunities coming into my life weren’t meant to end with me. One verse that has stayed with me is, “Freely you have received; freely give.” So I opened LinkedIn and started posting opportunities. That was it, no business plan, no logo, no strategy. Just a college student hoping one post might help another student. Those posts eventually became Zappurtunity, a name that combines “Za” from my name, Zawadi, with “opportunity.” I always tell people it’s more than a name. It’s a reminder of how I want to live my life. Every gift (Zawadi means gift) we’ve been given can become an opportunity to serve someone else. Since then, that simple idea has grown into a community that has reached more than 18,000 students and professionals, and that’s still hard for me to believe sometimes. The numbers are exciting, but they’re not what I’m most proud of. I’m proud of the messages that say, “I got the internship.” “I won the scholarship.” “I finally applied to this.” “I thought of you when I got accepted.” Those messages remind me that behind every opportunity is a real person whose life might look completely different because someone decided to share information instead of keeping it.

Today, my life is a mix of a lot of different things, and honestly, I love that. I’m a student at Georgia Tech studying Information Technology Management, I’m building Zappurtunity, creating content, mentoring students, traveling, speaking at events, and advocating for first-generation students and Gen Z. At the same time, I’m still being mentored myself. I think that’s one of the healthiest places to be. I never want to stop learning. Every mentor, professor, friend, and professional who has taken time to answer my questions has helped shape who I’m becoming, and I hope I’m doing the same for someone else. I want students to see that you don’t have to wait until you’ve “made it” to encourage people. You can make an impact while you’re still figuring things out yourself. Looking ahead, I hope to become a Product Manager because I love solving problems and building things that make people’s lives better. I also plan to pursue a graduate degree in Artificial Intelligence or Data Analytics because I believe technology can become one of the greatest tools for expanding access when it’s designed with people in mind. As Zappurtunity continues to grow, I dream of expanding our scholarship fund, launching travel grants so students can attend conferences they never thought they’d be able to afford, creating mentorship programs that last beyond one conversation, and building leadership experiences that help students discover confidence before they discover a job title. One day, I hope that work reaches refugee camps and underserved communities around the world because I know there are young people there today with dreams just as big as mine once were.

When I think about the little girl who was born in a refugee camp and the woman I’m becoming today, I don’t see two different people. I see God’s faithfulness woven through every chapter of my life. Philippians 4:13 has carried me through every season because it reminds me that my confidence isn’t rooted in titles, accomplishments, or having everything figured out. It’s rooted in knowing that God will strengthen me for whatever He has called me to do. More than anything, I hope the legacy of Zappurtunity isn’t measured by how many followers it has or how many opportunities it shares. I hope it’s measured by the people who choose to pay it forward. If years from now a student becomes a mentor because someone once mentored them, starts a scholarship because someone once invested in them, or opens a door because someone once opened one for them, then I think that’s a legacy worth building. And if my story reminds even one person that where you begin doesn’t determine where you can go, then every step of this journey has been worth it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but every challenge has shaped the person and leader I’m becoming. Starting Zappurtunity meant building something without a blueprint. I wasn’t an experienced entrepreneur. I was, and still am, an undergraduate student at Georgia Tech studying Business Administration with a concentration in Information Technology Management who saw a problem and wanted to do something about it. Everything from building a community to creating partnerships has been a learning experience, and most of what I know today came from asking questions, making mistakes, and being willing to learn.

Balancing school, internships, Zappurtunity, content creation, mentoring students, learning from my own mentors, and advocating for first-generation students and Gen Z hasn’t always been easy. I used to think saying yes to everything meant I was making the most of every opportunity, but I’ve learned that even good things require balance. Rest isn’t a weakness, and saying no sometimes allows me to give my best yes to what God has truly called me to do. The emotional side of this work has also been challenging. There are days when I wish I could personally fund every scholarship or send every student to a life-changing conference. While I can’t do everything on my own, I can continue building a community where more people choose to mentor, give back, and create opportunities together. That’s why I’m currently looking for partners, sponsors, professionals, schools, nonprofits, and organizations that believe in this mission and want to help create more opportunities for students. I want Zappurtunity to become a community where giving back is something we do together, because the more people we bring into the mission, the more students we can reach and the more opportunities we can actually create.

Through all of it, my faith has been the one constant. Whenever I feel overwhelmed or start questioning myself, I’m reminded that I don’t have to have everything figured out before taking the next step. God has been faithful in every season of my life, and looking back, I can see that he has always provided exactly what I needed, even if it didn’t happen the way I expected. Every obstacle has stretched me, strengthened me, and reminded me that growth rarely happens when life feels easy. It happens when you keep showing up, keep trusting, and keep believing that the gifts you’ve been given are meant to serve other people. I’m still learning, still growing, and still figuring things out, and I think that’s the beauty of the journey.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m the founder of Zappurtunity, a professional development and career organization that helps students discover opportunities, build meaningful connections, and believe they’re capable of achieving more than they thought possible. While people may know me for sharing scholarships, internships, fellowships, conferences, and career resources, what I really love is helping students build confidence. Sometimes all it takes is someone saying, “You should apply,” making an introduction, or reminding a student that they belong in the room. Those are the moments that mean the most to me. I think what makes my work different is that it’s personal because a lot of what I help students navigate today are things I once had to figure out for myself. I was born in a refugee camp, came to the United States as a child, had to learn English and adjust to a completely new environment, and eventually became a first-generation college student learning how to navigate college and the professional world without a clear roadmap. I had to learn how to network, find internships, ask for help, reach out to mentors, and put myself in rooms that sometimes felt unfamiliar. In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m building the road while I’m walking it, but I’m bringing other students along with me. I’m still learning from mentors while mentoring others, still applying for opportunities while sharing opportunities, and still growing into the person and leader I want to become. That’s why I don’t look at the people Zappurtunity reaches as numbers or followers. I see students who may just need the information, encouragement, connection, or opportunity that I once needed too. My background has made me ambitious, but it has also made me very aware of how much access can change someone’s life, and that is what continues to push me to build.

Since starting Zappurtunity, our community has grown to more than 18,000 students and professionals, and that growth has shown me how many people are looking for support, resources, and community as they figure out their next steps. What I’m most proud of is seeing Zappurtunity slowly move from simply sharing opportunities to actually creating them. I launched our first scholarship self-funded called the Zappurtunity Scholarship fund. I hope it becomes an annual scholarship through sponsorship and partnership. My bigger vision is to create travel grants, mentorship programs, career resources, events, and partnerships that give students access to experiences they may not have been able to reach on their own. I have big goals for both my career and this organization, but I want them to stay connected to the same purpose: using what I learn, the relationships I build, and the opportunities I receive to make the path a little more accessible for the people coming after me.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
One thing I would love readers to know is that behind all the titles, I’m still just a college student in my twenties figuring life out as I go. I have big dreams, probably too many tabs open on my laptop, a long list of things I want to accomplish, and plenty of moments where I’m still asking myself, “Okay…what’s next?” I think social media can sometimes make people’s lives look perfectly planned, but mine definitely isn’t. I’m learning that you can be ambitious and still take your time, you can be confident and still have questions, and you can be proud of how far you’ve come while knowing you have so much more growing to do.

I’m also really excited about the person I’m becoming outside of my career. I want to travel more, experience different cultures, continue growing in my faith, meet people who challenge the way I think, spend more time with the people I love, and actually enjoy my twenties instead of treating every year like another deadline. I have a lot that I want to accomplish, but I’m learning that life isn’t only about the next internship, degree, title, or big accomplishment. Some of the best parts are the random conversations, friendships, mistakes, funny stories, and experiences you didn’t plan for. So right now, I’m giving myself permission to dream really big while also enjoying where I am today. I don’t know exactly what the next ten years will look like, and for once, I’m actually okay with that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zawadipilipili-portfolio.framer.website/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zawadi-pilipili-077215283/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/zappurtunity/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iiamzawadi