#  Makanaka Nyandoro 

 



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Once described by a close friend as “the most serious and the most ridiculous person she had ever met,” Makanaka Nyandoro was born and raised in the Sunshine City of Harare, Zimbabwe. She graduated with honours from Harvard College with a double concentration in Government and English and a citation in French.

She is passionate about advancing human rights and democratic governance across Africa. Her senior thesis, "With Friends Like These…", examined how liberation movement solidarity networks have shaped democratic outcomes in Southern Africa since 1990.

At Harvard, Makanaka conducted research on the Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction, civil unrest in the banlieues of Paris, and political uprisings in the Middle East. She served as Political Chair of the Harvard African Students' Association, was a team leader for the International Students' Orientation Program, co-founded the African Political Forum, wrote for ‘The Harvard Crimson’, and volunteered at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.

At Cambridge, she will pursue an MPhil in Politics and International Studies as the Lionel de Jersey Harvard Scholar at Emmanuel College. While her work focuses on democratic governance, she remains an avid reader who believes literature is one of the best ways to understand and connect people. She can often be found reading a novel, lying in the sunshine, or stopping to ask whether she can pet someone's puppy.



 



 

 See also:- [ Emmanuel ](/page-categories/emmanuel)
- [ Harvard ](/page-categories/harvard)
- [ 2026-27 ](/page-categories/2026-27)