Meet Ruvarashe, KnowBe4's 2022 Women of Colour in Cybersecurity Scholarship in South Africa

As KnowBe4 continues to expand around the globe, we aim to make a positive impact in all of the communities where our offices are located. We are proud to offer our first-ever Women of Colour in Cybersecurity Scholarship in South Africa. This annual scholarship offers 110,000 ZAR and an (ISC)² certification package for one woman of colour based in South Africa. In today's blog, we are excited to hear from Ruvarashe, our 2022 winner! She is passionate about cybersecurity and her dream is to work in national security - using cryptography to keep her country safe from cyber crime. Let’s get to know her more!

What initially sparked your interest in cybersecurity?

There are two different things that sparked my interest in cybersecurity. When I was 15, I was mesmerized by the female hacker in the movie, Ocean’s 8. She could hack into anything that the heist group needed her to, and it was so glamorized in the movie. It made me think; in real life it’s so easy for people to learn how to hack and use that skill to commit cyber crimes. I wanted to learn how to protect people from this.

A few years later, my aunt received a text that money had been withdrawn from her bank account. She actually didn’t withdraw any money, and her account was completely drained by a cyber criminal. To this day, we still don’t know what happened. The bank wasn’t able to help her at all because the hackers made it look like she made the withdrawal herself. My aunt is the first victim of cyber crime that I personally know, which motivated me to study computer science.

How will this scholarship help you start your career?

This scholarship is going to help me start my career with more knowledge about cryptography. I will be able to earn the (ISC)² certification, which will add to my resume and help me break into the cybersecurity field. I was also going to have to leave school for a few years to find other work so I could save enough money to pay for the last year of my education. Now, I get to finish my degree this coming year, and I couldn’t be more grateful!

What do you like to do for fun?

I like to code for fun! I like working on small coding projects in different languages that I know. I also like to read my peer's projects to see what they have done to solve a problem. On the weekends, you can find me hiking with my friends and family. I recently did a 16km (10 mile) hike in Cape Town! I also love reading fiction and theology books.

Who inspires you?

My parents are my inspiration. They have been through a lot in their life, and they never let the past define their future. My parents were brave enough to move to a foreign country to start their lives together and didn’t let anything hold them back. They are the warmest and most encouraging people you will ever meet!

My sister is my role model. She is studying for her Ph.D. in Neuroscience right now, and her hard work and dedication are truly inspiring.
 

What is your favorite quote?

“Ukakundikana nhasi, mangwana muka uzame zvekare” which is in Shona, the native language in Zimbabwe. It means, “If you fall today, you can get up and try again,” which my mom used to always say to us when we were growing up! 

What advice would you give to someone applying for this scholarship?

If you are considering applying for this scholarship, my advice would be to have a positive mindset. You are worthy of applying and deserve this! Be true to yourself when answering questions on the interviews with the committee because you never know what will happen.

I also want to say to students that didn’t have money for school this year, try to apply to as many scholarships as you can because there are good people and companies like KnowBe4 that are generous enough to help. If you work hard and are in good academic standing, you really can find funding!