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“I was born in the Congo and there is always war. I was a refugee in my own country.”

When Sophia Bajinya, ’26, was eight years old, she fled to Kenya from the Democratic Republic of Congo as a refugee with her brother. Bajinya was turned away from public school because she couldn’t afford to pay the required fee of 3,000 Kenyan shillings a month—that’s equivalent to $23 dollars.

After several years in an orphanage in Kenya, Bajinya and her brother found their older sister. They believed she had died in the war but learned that she managed to immigrate to America and was now living in Washington state. Through the UN refugee program and with help from their sister, Bajinya and her brother joined their sibling in Washington, settling in Graham, where Bajinya was enrolled in fifth grade without knowing how to write or speak English. But even at age 11, she was determined to learn.

“In the village when I couldn’t go to school, I would go steal mangoes,” says Bajinya. “And then when I came here, I was like, education is sweeter than mangoes.”

Banjinya and her brother lived with their foster mom, Cindy, in Graham for four years before she passed away from cancer. The siblings were relocated to live with a woman they affectionately call Miss Patty, who had fostered their older sister and made it possible for the three siblings to live together with her in Steilacoom, Wash.

“She became our mom,” Banjinya says. “I went to high school in Steilacoom, but I didn’t think I’d go to college. But she made me apply for SU and other schools and I got into all of them.”

For Banjinya, ºìÐÓÊÓƵ stood out. She knew she wanted small class sizes where she could ask questions and connect with professors. Banjinya also identified with SU’s mission to empower leaders for a more just and humane world. Most importantly, her financial aid package, including the Costco Scholarship and Fostering Scholars scholarship, made higher education attainable, something Banjinya never thought would be possible.

Every year, Costco Scholars are celebrated at a fall breakfast fundraiser. Now in her fourth year at SU, Banjinya was featured as the student speaker at this year’s event, which raised $7.1 million for scholarships for SU and the University of Washington.

“What truly changed everything was when I opened the financial aid letter and saw it. I had received the Costco Scholarship. That moment? It felt like the world had finally opened its doors,” Banjinya said in her remarks. “For the first time, I knew college was for me. Someone like me, a refugee girl who was once chased out of school for not having $23, was going to college.”

Majoring in business and marketing, Bajinya took the concepts she learned in the classroom and applied them to her own clothing and jewelry company, JoyB. She is passionate about fashion as a form of self-expression to show her culture and personality. Banjinya designs the clothes and sends them to vendors in China and Africa for production. Recently, she had a table at Bumbershoot and sold out her entire inventory.

“I used to sell sugar cane in a market close to us in Congo,” Banjinya says. “I have always wanted to do business. Entrepreneurship is in my blood.”

Bajinya also began modeling in high school. While performing with her West African dance team at an event, a photographer asked to take her photo and she thought, “why not?”

“The photo ended up on the front cover of a magazine in France,” Banjinya says. “That’s when I started applying for agencies.”

She currently models and has assisted in the marketing and sales for Mediums Collective for three years, a BIPOC-owned clothing company in Capitol Hill.

At SU, Banjinya is involved with the African Student Association (ASA) and runs the fashion show that occurs during the annual African Night, ASA’s biggest event. She is also a peer leader in the Fostering Scholars program supporting other foster students like herself where she has grown as a leader and advocate.

“ºìÐÓÊÓƵ believes in education and humanity. They want us to make a difference in the world after we finish,” Banjinya says. “Not just graduate and get a job but to help others.”

Banjinya’s dream is to return to her home village of Rutchuru, Congo, and establish a school that is free for all. As Banjinya experienced, many kids don’t go to school because of the price and especially girls who often have no avenue other than marriage.

“Education should be for everyone.”