Tulisha Malichi, a Model Student and Inspiration
Tulisha Malichi (’25, Zambia) learned as a child to embrace change and take on life’s twists and turns with joy. The son of a single mother, he lived a life on the move. Tulisha spent his early years with his grandparents in a rural area, while his mother finished her university studies in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. From his grandparents he learned from the importance of farming, leadership, and the strength and conviction it takes to build a business. His passion for agronomy and community development began by watching his grandfather farm the land and share his knowledge with other farmers.
When he was 11, Tulisha moved to the capital. “I moved around a lot in Zambia. I was in eight different schools. Sometimes, I had to change schools because of financial problems or to be closer to my mother,” he explained. Moving around so much within his country showed him people’s needs in rural Zambia, such as access to clean water, electricity, education, and work opportunities.
Each move meant adapting. From this he learned to be flexible, tolerant, and resilient. He also strived to be an exemplary student despite the constant changes. “I knew that I had to try even harder to do well because I was the new kid. I learned to see every start as an opportunity to improve,” Tulisha said.
These were valuable qualities to possess when he obtained a full scholarship from the Mastercard Foundation to travel to Costa Rica and study at EARTH University for four years. At EARTH, Tulisha has excelled in leadership, and has been ambitious and proactive. He was part of the Millennium Fellowship, a semester-long program that invites international students to boost their leadership in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.He is an ambassador for NGIN (NextGen Ag Impact Network), a platform that assists young people to positively transform agricultural ecosystems. “As an NGIN ambassador, I work with professionals, experts, and like-minded organizations to encourage young people like me to get into farming and be interested in our global food systems,” Tulisha said.
Recently, Tulisha became the coordinator and Campus Director of the Hult Prize at EARTH. The competition challenges young people worldwide to solve the planet’s most pressing issues with sustainable solutions. Tulisha helped organize the internal competition at EARTH and then traveled with the winning team to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in one of the Hult Prize summits. “Being a director meant creating an opportunity for other students to have this incredible experience and work on innovative ideas,” he recounted.
Tulisha’s goals are always focused on helping people, improving people’s living conditions, creating new opportunities, and giving back to his community, country, and the world.
“My favorite part of being a student at EARTH is having the chance to put into practice what I am learning in the classroom. And as a person who enjoys interacting with people, I find it really interesting to talk to farmers and share some practical solutions from what I have learned to help with some of the problems they face,” Tulisha explained.
Thanks, Tulisha, for giving your best to the world!
