Alumni Spotlight: Bella Horusenga
Serving the community for 25 years has allowed Emerald Youth to see many of Knoxville's youth go through our programs and develop into young adult leaders. This series will highlight their stories and their achievements.
Before moving to the United States at the age of 15, Bellansira Horusenga was living in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe with her family, who had fled civil war and genocide in Burundi. With the assistance of the International Organization for Migration, her family settled in Knoxville in July 2009, where she attended Fulton High School. While participating in Emerald Youth Foundation, she was selected as one of the graduating high school students to serve as an Emerald Youth Fellow, an annual program dedicated to empowering students to become adult leaders.
Upon graduation, Bella’s mentor at Emerald Youth Foundation encouraged her to attend college. Bella graduated from Tennessee Wesleyan University with a degree in health professions, with the intent of one day returning to Africa to heal others. Today, she is actively working in the Knoxville community.