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The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is proud to announce that Zoe Bok, a Master of Social Work student, has been selected as a 2026 DREAM Scholar by Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national organisation in the USA dedicated to advancing community colleges as engines of opportunity, belonging and economic mobility.

Bok is one of just eight students selected through a highly competitive application process to participate in the DREAM Scholars programme this year. The 2026 DREAM Scholars represent community colleges across the Achieving the Dream Network, including institutions in the United States and South Africa.

As a DREAM Scholar, Bok will take part in an immersive leadership and learning experience at DREAM 2026, Achieving the Dream’s annual conference, to be held in March 2026 in Portland, Oregon. During the conference, DREAM Scholars will engage with community college leaders from around the world, participate in leadership development opportunities, and attend sessions focused on student success and its role in economic mobility and community prosperity. Bok will be accompanied by Prof Ralarala and Prof Su Pather, also sponsored by the ATD and Kresge Foundation.

Each DREAM Scholar will also deliver an individual presentation at the conference, sharing their personal journey and offering insight into how their college supports student learning, completion and opportunity. In addition, each 2026 DREAM Scholar receives a financial scholarship to support their educational or personal journey, along with access to leadership development, mentoring, and professional networks.

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Bok has always seen life as a dance, one of rhythm, movement and meaning. Born in Mpumalanga, South Africa, and having called five South African provinces home, she has grown up surrounded by the country’s diversity, each place shaping her sense of identity and belonging. Dance has been her lifelong companion, a space where she found healing, confidence and joy. It taught her to listen to her emotions, to express without words, and to move through life with grace. These lessons in rhythm and resilience have carried into every part of who she is today.

Now pursuing her Master’s in Social Work at UWC, Bok focuses her research on Child-Centred Play Therapy, blending her love for creativity with her passion for emotional well-being and early developmental care. She also serves as a First-Year Transition Officer, mentoring new First-year undergraduate students and helping them find their footing as they begin their university journey.

At the heart of everything she does is kindness - a quiet but steady drive to serve others with compassion and authenticity. Whether guiding a student, engaging in her studies, or dancing through life’s challenges, Bok leads with faith, empathy and an unwavering belief in the healing power of connection.

“We are incredibly proud of Zoe’s achievement. Her dedication to her studies, community engagement and most notably her dedication to promote first-year students’ sense of connectedness and belonging at UWC, exemplifies the values we hold at UWC,” said Prof Su Pather, UWC’s First Year Experience coordinator and Learning & Teaching Specialist in the DVC Academic’s office.

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“At Achieving the Dream, we see students as co-designers of the systems change we seek to catalyse in our work. The DREAM Scholars programme brings this ATD value to life. Through their stories, the 2026 DREAM Scholars bring clarity, courage and conviction to the conversations shaping the future of higher education. These scholars remind us that when community colleges centre student voices, they strengthen not just individual lives but the vitality of entire communities,” said Achieving the Dream President and CEO, Dr Karen A. Stout, who highlighted that student-centred impact is central to ATD’s broader mission. 

About the DREAM Scholars Programme

The DREAM Scholars programme is an experiential learning opportunity for community college students designed to strengthen leadership, critical thinking and professional networks. The programme integrates authentic student perspectives into Achieving the Dream’s annual DREAM conference and is supported through private gifts from ATD Network members, employees, coaches, board members and partners.

About Achieving the Dream

Achieving the Dream (ATD) is a partner and champion of more than 300 community colleges In the USA. Through expert coaching, evidence-based practices and a powerful peer network, ATD supports colleges in building capacity and implementing strategies that help students succeed academically, personally and economically. ATD’s vision is for every college to be a catalyst for equitable and economically vibrant communities. Learn more at www.achievingthedream.org.