Christine Wanda
H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program
Christine Wanda knows that her life in Arlington, living in a “well-constructed house” and getting a quality education, is a far cry from life in Uganda, the country her parents left in 1995 after winning a lottery visa from the U.S. State Department.
But she also knows that the African nation is a part of her as she sings her way through life, just as Ugandans do.
A gifted actress and singer—she’s performed at The Kennedy Center, as well as at Number One Observatory Circle while Vice President Joe Biden was in residence—Wanda, 17, is doing her part to help people in the country of her heritage. At H-B Woodlawn, she started a chapter of She’s the First, a group that aids girls in developing countries who are the fi rst members of their family to get an education. For three years, her club raised about $700 annually to pay tuition for a girl named Ruth who attends the Arlington Academy of Hope, the school that Wanda’s parents, John and Joyce, founded in the village of Bumwalukani in the late ’90s.
In 2016, Wanda and several club members traveled to the Academy to teach music and math classes and assist in the school’s health clinic.
Closer to home, the Bluemont teen volunteers on weekends with Doing Art Together, a program that helps specialneeds
kids with art projects. “She’s very consistent in her choices around how to spend her time,” says H-B Woodlawn principal Casey Robinson. “She always had a clear idea of where she wanted to go in acting and singing, as well as academically.”
Wanda plans to attend Elon University this fall and pursue her passion for musical theater. The stage, she says, is where she feels relaxed and engaged: “I feel like I’m a complete person when there’s music in my aura.”