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For International Education Week 2024, we’re sharing conversations with faculty, staff, and students who engage in global and intercultural learning in different ways. Happiness Mapira is the new Registrar of the University of Dayton. She joined UD in August 2024 after having served at Ohio Dominican University. 

Tell us about your journey that eventually brought you to UD.

I’m originally from Zimbabwe, and came to the U.S. on a student visa to study nursing. I attended St. Gregory’s University, which was a small, Catholic, liberal arts institution in Shawnee, Oklahoma. While I was there, I changed my major to business and intended to begin a career in international business.  After graduating from the University, A new program was started and Ii was hired as the Director of Student Services for the St. Gregory’s College for Working Adults (later the College of Continuing Studies).  I was constantly inspired by the working adults who had such a commitment to education and its transformative power. They would come to the office and feel uncertain about whether or not they could complete their degree, but little by little, and with help along the way from the Office of Student Services, they did! I always enjoyed going to graduation and seeing their beaming smiles as they received their diplomas. Eventually I wanted a new challenge, and happened to meet the Dean of Ohio Dominican at a conference. We connected over our vision to see students succeed– when you enjoy what you do, and have a vision for the future, it comes across! After 12 years at Ohio Dominican, I answered the call to serve at UD. 

What led you to initially move to the U.S.?

Zimbabwe went through some hardships as a nation. My family began transitioning out of the country but throughout the unrest, my parents always emphasized the importance of education. My mother crochets, and she sold her creations to fund our education. After moving to the US to study, I initially wanted to return, but found that the country had changed, my family had moved away, and so I had to ask myself what was next. This is something that I connect with students about: we’re all trying to find out who we are, what we’re meant to do, where we should take the next step. I’m not Catholic (though I say I’m Catholic by education!), but I believe God has a plan for all of us, and his plans for me became clear. When someone asks me about “home” now, it’s Oklahoma, where I have family, and where I became an adult. My mom is the glue that holds our family together, and she lives half the year with me, and half the year in Oklahoma with my brother. I celebrate my family every day: they are the source of all that I am and everything I do. 

What did you learn from being an international student?

The international student experience taught me compassion and understanding. Not everyone begins on the same playing field, which is why diversity, equity, and inclusion work is so important. Even when you come from a background where you had access to everything you needed, everyone’s experience is still different: different high schools, activities, family dynamics. Needs are different. It also taught me the importance of words and language. When working with a team on crafting policy or procedure in my work now, it’s important to be able to appreciate all the elements. We need to always ask ourselves: how does this impact all groups of people? Challenges are not always brought on by resource issues. My background prepared me to accept change perhaps more quickly than some, but at times we need stability and routine to allow us the freedom to be open to change. 

What do you hope is the impact of your work?

What I ask myself every day, and what I think we help students ask themselves, is “What do I want to be when I grow up?” or “What do I want for my life?” I have to admit, I don’t always know my own answer to that question! There were times in my life where it was a short-term goal: maybe “I want to get to my sophomore year”. And that’s enough sometimes, to go semester by semester. It’s important in those moments to recognize your progress, even when they seem like small steps. We all want more in our lives, want to have more than we have, to go further than we’ve been. My parents taught me that education is the way to make that happen, and I’m so glad that my work lets me show people that it’s possible: that you can celebrate where you came from while taking the next step. In my office, we’re all here for the same reason: to make a difference in student success, to create structures and policies that allow us to celebrate student achievements. 

How do you celebrate your global perspective?

I celebrate Zimbabwe every day! It accounts for everything I am, and everything I do. I celebrate it, and my family, on a daily basis. By connecting to my global perspective, and my journey to UD, it’s a tribute to my family, and a tribute to their commitment to making our lives better each day. I hope I can pass on a little of that support and encouragement to every person I encounter in my work at UD.