The moment health management and policy senior Zoe Mutombo stepped foot on the University of Miami campus, she knew she was home.
What followed were four years of rising in the ranks within the African Student Union, becoming Student Government Treasurer, the creation of an award-winning organization, Black in Business, and more.
Zoe’s story is a testament to growth, grit, and giving back, and her impact at the University of Miami will be felt for years to come.
Paving her path
Drawn by the desire to help others, Mutombo began her journey at the University of Miami as a nursing major.
While living in Hecht Residential College as a freshman, she mentioned she felt disconnected from her nursing coursework to her Residential Faculty, Karoline Mortensen, who suggested she take an introduction to health management and policy class.
The rest was history. Zoe had found her path.
By the time she was a sophomore, she had transitioned to Miami Herbert Business School as a health management and policy major with a minor in public health.
Culture, Community and Change
As a freshman, Zoe was involved with the African Student Union (ASU), which was pivotal to her future success at UM.
Through ASU, she connected with like-minded individuals of similar cultural backgrounds who gave her the freedom to be herself and explore the plethora of opportunities at UM. It was because of a connection through ASU and her involvement in Student Government’s First-Year Leadership Council that she found herself participating in LAUNCH Leadership Summit, which provides students with the unique opportunity to explore leadership, organizational, and professional skills to become a future leader on and beyond campus.
She rose through the ranks of ASU, serving as treasurer her sophomore year and later becoming president her senior year. She followed the same path with Student Government, starting on the Outreach Committee before becoming assistant director of outreach and later, Student Government Treasurer in her final year.
To nurture more relationships at Miami Herbert, Zoe joined Alpha Kappa Psi (AKPsi), an educational and professional co-ed fraternity.
“AKPsi helped me grow as a professional and taught me how to navigate unique spaces,” she said.
That experience laid the groundwork for her future advocacy and leadership. “I wanted to create something that made students of color feel like they belonged in business too.”
Then, Black in Business (BIB), a student organization that provides a professional community for Black students pursuing business careers, was born.
Launched with the support of her peers and Miami Herbert lecturer Ebony Gallagher, Black in Business welcomed its first cohort in fall 2024.
Since its inception, BIB has served two cohorts offering networking, mentorship, and access to prominent leaders across campus and the local community. Through its intentional programming, BIB quickly drew attention across campus and beyond, and was recently recognized by the UM chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) with the 2025 Building Futures Award, which recognizes a pre-graduate program that works tirelessly to prepare students of color for their given field.
Next Chapter
Outside the classroom and boardrooms, Zoe is a global thinker passionate about travel. She’s fluent in French, thanks to her family roots in Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and you can always find her hosting an event for her loved ones, reading, or looking for her next DIY project.
Professionally, Zoe is heading to Chicago to work full-time at a health care consulting firm specializing in data analytics, a role she secured after a successful internship last summer.
“Whether it’s running a company or creating something new, I know I want to be in a position to lead and to help people,” Zoe said when looking ahead to her future. “That part of me never changed. I just found a different way to do it.”
True to her values of helping others and fostering a culture of belonging, Zoe found her path at the University of Miami and ensured she never stopped paving the way for others.
