STILLWATER, Okla. — Tuesday was a homecoming for Tererai Trent. Oklahoma State University and Stillwater are far from her native Zimbabwe, but speaking at the university’s Leader Development Speaker Series, Trent said the Stillwater community and OSU both were where she achieved her educational dreams.

“Go Pokes!” Trent said while greeting Tuesday’s crowd of 100. “It’s good to be home. This is a place that I will always call home.”

Born in a remote village in Zimbabwe, Trent wasn’t allowed as a girl to attend school. She was married off at 11 and had three children by the time she turned 18. Seeking a childhood dream of an education, Trent moved with her family in 1998 to Stillwater where she worked to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in entomology and plant pathology. Her story inspired Oprah Winfrey to donate $1.5 million to help Trent work with Save the Children to build nine schools in her native country. Winfrey also named Trent her all-time favorite guest.

“In 1948, the United Nations established that education is a fundamental right, and every individual should have access to education,” Trent said. “Unfortunately many women — especially in developing countries — didn’t have that opportunity. Of the 800 million people who are not able to read and write, the majority of that number is found in south Asia, followed by Sub-Sahara Africa. Two-thirds of that number is amongst women.”

The statistics were meant to present the reality of a world in which education shouldn’t be taken for granted and as a mission statement for Trent, who has dedicated her life to expanding education opportunities for girls in the developing world.

The tragedy of such lack of education, Trent said, is that it prevents those people from taking steps to prevent other tragedies. Of the 33 million people infected with HIV or AIDS, she said, 23 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the majority of those are women and girls.

“That’s the translation of illiteracy,” Trent said. “That’s the translation of lack of education.”

In her Zimbabwean village, Trent was refused the chance to go to school as she said the elders saw boys as “future breadwinners” while the girls were there simply meant to raise children.

“I never wanted that future,” she said. “All I wanted is a good education.”

Trent’s mother told her to bury her dreams, and so she scribbled her desire to get an education on a piece of paper wrapped in tin and buried it under a rock in her village. In African culture, Trent explained, it is tradition to bury the umbilical cord after birth because wherever the individual goes, the cord will remind you of your roots. Trent was hoping burying her dreams would serve as a similar reminder.

Using retirement money from a job in Zimbabwe, Trent moved with her five children and a physically abusive husband to Stillwater to pursue an undergraduate degree. Working three jobs while attending classes and raising children, Trent’s situation became more difficult as that retirement money’s value dropped due to deflation and political events in Zimbabwe.

“I was always the woman asking, ‘What time is it? What day is it?’ because I was always running,” she said.

Trent said she was embraced by a number of OSU faculty, staff, community members and groups who helped support her by among other things giving her money to purchase a graduation ceremony gown, helping to deport her abusive husband and helping her make ends meet for her children while in school.

Ron Beer was OSU’s vice president of student affairs when Trent came to the university. In 2000, he wrote a letter to a number of people to help find financial assistance for Trent.

“I know of no one more disciplined, more committed, more hard working, more courageous and willing to make incredible sacrifices to improve the lives of her young children than (Trent). ... Once she has completed her master’s, I’m confident she will then repay society tenfold.” Beer said finishing reading his letter. “I’m pleased to tell you that she in fact has repaid society many, many times over.”

Trent spoke directly during her talk Tuesday to several individuals who helped her during her time at OSU.

“In life, there are some people who are born to make differences, extraordinary human beings who truly believe in others,” she said. “You know in Africa they say it takes a village to raise a child. It took this community, the Stillwater community, to raise me.”

Trent said she tells everyone about OSU, which will unfortunately mean she is paying out-of-state tuition for three of her children who have already applied or enrolled at the university. Her success and the fact she is building nine schools in an area that had never had running water or electricity, she said, was achieved with the help of many who believed in her and helped her achieve her personal dream.

“I’ve always wanted to come back and say thank you to Oklahoma, thank you to Stillwater, thank you for everything,” Trent said. “I could not be where I am without Stillwater.”