At ALA, some journeys come full circle.
Lehlabile first came across the Academy as a high school student, visiting campus for the first time and realizing there was a world she had not been exposed to before. What stayed with her most was the students, young people already doing things that felt far bigger than the classroom.
From that moment, she knew she wanted to be here.
Her journey took her through ALA as a student, then to the United States for university, and into her early years as a teacher. Along the way, she began to understand more clearly what ALA had given her, not just opportunities, but a sense of confidence and the ability to step into spaces that once felt out of reach.
Even when things were difficult, those foundations stayed with her.
While she was a student, small moments began to shape what would later become a much bigger direction. Spending time working with younger students through a student enterprise helped her realize how much she enjoyed teaching, even before she fully named it for herself.
That interest stayed with her, and over time, it became a clear path.
Now, she has returned to ALA as a faculty member in Entrepreneurial Leadership, teaching in the same environment that once shaped her. For her, coming back is about more than returning to a place. It is about giving back to something that played a defining role in her life.
In the classroom, she works with students who remind her of that first moment, curious, ambitious, and trying to figure out what is possible.
Being back at ALA feels familiar, but it also feels meaningful in a different way.
It feels like coming home.
