Meet Zoie Ndonye, an animal and veterinary science major from Nairobi, Kenya, and this year’s student commencement speaker for the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. Zoie came to URI with a lifelong love of biology and a deep connection to animals, inspired by time spent with her grandparents’ cows, goats, and chickens. That early passion led her to pursue a future in veterinary medicine and wildlife advocacy. At URI, Zoie immersed herself in campus life. She got involved with cels_sos, urisocialdance, uri_rotaract, and helped launch uri_self_defense_club. She played intramural futsal, volleyball, and soccer, and served as both a tour guide and orientation leader. She also helped revive the URI chapter of the phieetasigmauri honor society. Zoie’s proudest accomplishment is her work as a tour guide and orientation leader, where she connected with students from all walks of life and helped them thrive at URI. “As much as I mentored them, I learned so much from them,” she sa...