After fifteen months away from home, Zeta Kromah, an international student athlete at the College of William and Mary in the United States, is returning to Liberia this December not just to reunite with family, but to give back to the communities that shaped her.
A sophomore majoring in Business Marketing and International Relations, Kromah is using her winter break to launch a community impact initiative titled “Tribe Stars in Liberia,” a Christmas season project designed to empower youth and support elderly residents through sports, education, and compassion.
Born and raised in West Point, one of Liberia’s most underserved and stigmatized communities, Kromah understands firsthand the challenges facing young people especially girls who dare to dream beyond societal limitations. West Point is often associated with poverty and limited opportunities, but Kromah’s journey stands as proof that circumstance does not define destiny.
Through Tribe Stars in Liberia, she plans to host Christmas youth soccer camps for boys and girls across three or more communities, using sport as a tool to teach leadership, teamwork, discipline, and confidence. The camps are expected to reach over 100 children, many of whom lack access to structured sports programs.
In addition to the soccer camps, the project includes a food drive for elderly community members, targeting at least five households during the holiday season. With rising costs of living and limited support systems, many elderly Liberians rely heavily on family and neighbors for daily survival. The initiative aims to ease that burden, if only for a moment, by providing food packages and holiday relief.
“This project is about more than soccer,” Kromah says. “It’s about restoring hope, bringing joy during Christmas, and reminding people that they are not forgotten.”
Kromah’s passion for service is deeply personal. Despite growing up in a community often stereotyped for producing negative outcomes, she excelled academically, graduating as valedictorian of LEAD Monrovia Football Academy.
Her talent and determination carried her to the international stage, where she now competes in NCAA Division I soccer for William and Mary’s women’s team, known as The Tribe.
She has also proudly represented Liberia at the highest levels of sport, playing for the U-17, U-20, and Senior Women’s National Teams, and serving as captain of the U-17 team for one year. These experiences, she says, shaped her worldview and reinforced her desire to give back.
“Everything I have today is because of kind, selfless people who believed in me,” Kromah reflects. “Now it’s my turn to return that kindness and invest in the next generation.”
The Tribe Stars in Liberia project will also be documented through photos and short videos, highlighting the stories of the children and families impacted. Kromah hopes the initiative will inspire others both at home and abroad to support grassroots efforts that create real change. As she prepares to return home this Christmas, Zeta Kromah is carrying more than luggage she’s carrying hope, purpose, and a commitment to uplift the community that first believed in her dreams.
