Words by Smiley Team
Vee Kativhu is a ray of sunshine. The 23-year-old, who is an education activist and empowerment YouTuber, is on a mission to make sure everyone knows there is a place for them in education – no matter their background, skin colour, or gender.
The Oxford and Harvard graduate is something of a celebrity online, with a quarter of a million subscribers to her YouTube channel. She graduated in July 2020 from Oxford, and in July 2021 from Harvard, and spent her university years helping others study, too.
It all began when she started uni, nearly four years ago now, and didn’t feel like there was enough representation for women like herself. “If I see a problem, I want to address it,” she tells Smiley News.
So she started a channel, with the aim of reaching out to underrepresented students and encouraging them to apply for universities like Oxford. “Being a young Black girl, I thought – where is everyone else?” says Vee.
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This wasn’t the first time Vee had given back and helped others. Even before university, she’d joined a social mobility foundation charity that helps people from different backgrounds with mentoring schemes. But it was her YouTube channel that really propelled her mission.
Vee posted videos with studying tips, revision techniques, application advice, and more. “I was unapologetic in the way I spoke about issues happening around me,” she says. “I was direct about the lack of diversity.
“People always have that notion of, ‘shouldn’t you be grateful to be there?’. And yes, I am, because I’ve seen what a lack of having that can do – I was born and raised in Zimbabwe – but I don’t think that’s a good mindset to be in. That just because you love something, you can’t point out its flaws.”
People found her videos refreshing, she says. Even her Principal, who she calls her “biggest fan”, would watch her videos and support her.
She’d share practical tips, such as how to write a personal statement, or how she writes essays, as well as behind-the-scenes or unedited content about the reality of being a student – avoiding sharing the glamorous, edited bits.
And the impact has been impossible to ignore. In fact, it’s what has kept Vee producing videos for the past four years. “The comments section would flood in with comments saying how helpful it was, how people were inspired to apply to university,” she says.
“Not a day goes by now that someone hasn’t messaged saying, ‘I’m at this job because you gave me confidence’, or ‘I got into Cambridge thanks to you’.”
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Results day is one of the busiest times for interaction with her followers, says Vee, as people share their thanks for helping them get into university.
Now, she's focusing on applying for her PhD – and she’s still committed to inspiring others to engage in education. “Quality education for young women and advocating for education will always be a part of me,” she says. “Access to education is something I’ll always be working on.”
During her time at Harvard, Vee branched out from YouTube and started writing her book, Empowered: Live Your Life With Passion and Purpose, sharing her wisdom of motivation, self-help tips and life advice.
“My channel was the basis of the book,” says Vee. “I didn’t want to write a book unless it was 100% true to me, and empowerment has taken over my life.”
Vee says the book has about “5% studying”, but the rest is for everyone who feels in a space in their life where they want to transition and take control of a change. It’s more focused on the world of work, she says, with practical tips on how to deal with challenges and setbacks. “It’s not just ‘you can do it’,” says Vee. “It’s, ‘this is the situation I was in, so let’s try and contextualise it for you’.”
Each chapter ends with 10 step-by-step pointers to help you get out of a certain situation. Vee wants people to read the book and know that they should never feel alone. “I want them to feel like they could get up right that second and go and do something – take action,” she says.
The past four years have been a bit of whirlwind for the 23-year-old – “I can’t actually believe it’s been for years,” she says, when we ask her how long – but a standout moment for her was winning the Diana Award in June 2021, one of the highest accolades young people can receive for their work in advocacy.
“I always admired this award,” she says. “I would tune in every year, so I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I won!”
To follow Vee, watch her YouTube videos, see what she’s up to on Instagram, or buy her book.
Empowered: Live Your Life with Passion and Purpose by Vee Kativhu was published 2 December 2021 by Square Peg, £14.99 in paperback.
