But her rise from deep poverty to the head of biostatistics at one of Africa’s most prestigious research institutions had very little to do with luck.“My grandfather was working in a lovely kitchen for a white family,” she says, “but his own family often went hungry.” Despite her hunger, Nonhlanhla had to walk 10 kilometers each way to the community’s one-room schoolhouse.When her mother or grandmother told her to do a chore like fetching water, Petros would step in and say, “No, she’s studying.” He also stuck up for her when the boys in her class—and even some male teachers—tried to undermine the smart girl who was outshining the boys.She and a few other disadvantaged Black students approached a school counselor and acknowledged that they had no idea how to use a computer, and their limited command of English made it hard for them to understand their professors.Her work centers on assembling huge datasets and converting them into useful knowledge for clinicians and public health officials."