Below you will find our scholar blog posts – they cover a variety of topics, from arriving in the U.S. to interning with a stellar company to post-graduation dreams.
| I didn’t know how much I loved my Rwanda until it was time to leave. I am in a far distant place, but I hold Rwanda close to my heart. From the beginning of my applications to colleges in the U.S., I knew that after getting the knowledge and the degree I wanted, it will all be about developing myself and my lovely country. However, that desire was not that strong until I came to know how I love my country. That was the day I departed from Rwanda to come to the U.S. I learned a new thing about |
| My name is Sharon Batamuriza, and I am majoring in International Relations and Human Rights at Bennington College in Vermont. My college experience is worth more than words can say. Bennington is a small school, but it has a good, strong community. When I began my first term as an international student, it was kind of hard to communicate since I was in a new environment; I didn’t know what was accurate to say, and what was not. Honestly, it seemed overwhelming. However, after one month, I began getting used to the school; all the students and the professors were |
| Simin Wahdat is the second OAD student to graduate from Bucknell. She graduated on May 21, and Athena Katsaros was there to celebrate and share the experience. I was so excited to share the weekend of graduation festivities with Simin and the other members of her ‘American family’. I realized that it was the end of a 5 year journey, beginning on the day I decided to help her get a scholarship to Bucknell University and ending on the day of her graduation.This was a bittersweet feeling. The four years she spent at University were so rich and fulfilling. And |
| We are extremely pleased to announce that Lehigh University awarded Sheilla Rukundo a full scholarship for this fall!Sheilla is one of seven children and grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda. She ultimately returned to Rwanda with her family, as they began rebuilding their lives after the genocide. She was elected Head Girl of the school in Kigali and served in countless leadership capacities in school clubs. Sheilla is passionate about helping vulnerable groups, especially children, and volunteers her time at genocide survivors’ orphanages. Sheilla’s dream is to be an architect, and after graduating from college, she plans to return |
| I am thankful for my friends here at Lafayette. They look out for me and want to make me happy. They are always there when I need them most. I did not think I would find a really caring and fun group of friends my first semester but I was proven wrong in my first month here. We were still half-strangers when they threw a birthday party for me. Then and there, I knew I was not alone in this vast new land. I am grateful for them and so privileged to have them.I am also grateful for my mentors, |