A prayer that the impossible might become possible

As his plane from South Africa approached the American coastline, Kaza-Zack Kazirukanyo ’27 pressed his head against the window and listened to his favorite gospel song, “Kuyenzeka,” a Zulu word meaning “it is possible.”

He was traveling to begin his education at Notre Dame, an opportunity once beyond his family’s financial reach. Support from a Cavanaugh Council and President’s Circle scholarship made that journey possible.

Long before he crossed the Atlantic, books had introduced Kazirukanyo to a world beyond his own. Growing up in South Africa, he spent evenings at the Boskruin Library while his mother tutored nearby. He immersed himself in stories of history, leadership, and public service, including Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, which he once attempted to sneak out of the library rather than leave unfinished.

By age nine, he had even organized a political party at his primary school, recruiting a charismatic classmate to run against him for party leadership when no one else volunteered.

“At nine, I could win an election, provided I supplied my own opposition,” Kazirukanyo recalled. “At Notre Dame, I learned something more.”

His Notre Dame experience has taken many forms. As an engineering student, Kazirukanyo has explored the possibilities of technology, building an autonomous tuk-tuk and working toward fabricating his own microchip. Beyond the classroom, he has mentored first-year students as a Moreau Peer Leader, connected with alumni through ND Listens, and welcomed new students and their families into the Notre Dame community.

Through these experiences, Kazirukanyo has discovered new ways to bring together his interests in engineering, leadership, and service—and a deeper understanding of what it means to put those gifts to work for others.

“Notre Dame is not merely a beautiful place to which we return. It is a place from which we are sent,” he reflected.

As his time under the Golden Dome nears its end, Kazirukanyo imagines himself once again aboard a plane crossing the Atlantic, returning to South Africa while listening to a familiar song.

“When I first crossed the Atlantic, ‘Kuyenzeka’ was a prayer that in my life, the impossible might become possible,” he said. “When I return, it will be a prayer for millions more.”