(CNN) -- Eight-year-old Tineyi takes my hand and leads me into her mud-thatched hut in my home village of Matau in rural Zimbabwe. There, in a dark corner of the room, is a wooden bookshelf. Carefully crafted by her father, it protects her word-filled treasures from the smoky fire inside the small hut where her mother cooks. I smile, knowing that her father has recognized the value these books will bring to his little bookworm -- a life ahead of her with limitless opportunities. It was not a life intended for many girls in Africa. As a cattle-herding tomboy, I was bound to follow in the footsteps of generations of women before me: early marriage, illiteracy and poverty. Back then, most kids in my village never had a chance to attend pre-school because it didn't exist. Instead, we would spend hours chasing birds and monkeys from our parents' fields.
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Poverty and cultural traditions kept Tererai Trent out of school for most of her childhood
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But that didn't stop the Zimbabwean from fulfilling her desire to get an education
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Trent has defied odds to earn three degrees, including a PhD
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Now, she's ensuring kids from her village have the opportunities she lacked as a child
It is a light that lets African girls like me and @placeholder dream big.