My father is Ghanaian. My mother is half Malian and half
Yugoslav. I was born in Niamey, Niger. I grew up mostly
between Ghana and Ethiopia. So far I have traveled to New
York (where I graduated from the United Nations
International School), Washington, France, Burkina Faso,
Togo, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.
I came to AUP because I wanted to eventually work in
Africa, and having a solid grasp of both English and French
can take you around most of the African continent. I also
wanted to have an American education while simultaneously
enjoying a Francophone experience. This was important to me
especially because I had studied French throughout high
school. An equally important reason for my coming to AUP was
because it had a well rounded curriculum and courses which
were of great interest to me. What attracted me most was the
University’s typically American focus on cross-cultural
understanding and general knowledge. I thought that the idea
of FirstBridge was great!
At AUP I have found the attention that I needed to
fulfill my dreams. The classes are small so they allow for a
closer relationship between students and their professors.
Moreover, there is a higher chance that my voice matters and
will be heard.
I founded the French Club at AUP under the supervision of
Professor Dominique Mougel in 2008. The aim of the French
Club is to create an atmosphere where all French speaking
students – with all levels of French – can come together and
communicate and explore francophone cultures and France. We
also facilitate and drive communication and interaction
between the French Department and the student body, to
effectively complement what is being learned in the
classroom through our various extracurricular activities.
Since its inception, we have done our best to collaborate on
events with other student clubs as well.
I have also been a Student Advisor this spring because I
feel it’s important to share my experience with incoming
students so that they can make the best out of the
opportunities offered at AUP. I remember that when I first
arrived at AUP I received a very warm welcome, and this
feeling has stayed with me for as long as I have been here.
The AUP classroom extends beyond its four walls. Our
professors encourage us to see the world through the
classroom, and the classroom through the world. I also love
that everyone at AUP is a minority!
It is especially hard to be ignorant at AUP because you
are surrounded by people from different countries. Everyone
has different points of view based on their experiences and
background. There is always a unique point of view to be
shared. At the same time we all have in common a
cosmopolitanism that allows us to easily integrate this
isolated point of view into our ways of thinking. A
multicultural experience also allows us to get closer to the
truth. It is said that you can get closer to the truth about
something when you get as many perspectives as you can on
that thing, whether those perspectives are true or false.
Being in a multicultural environment is also a humbling
experience because you realize that you are a small part of
the world. Because people come from everywhere, your
communication skills are also tested because you have to
take care to be well informed so that you do not offend
anybody.
And Paris is an eternal museum. There are 3D expositions
that take up the whole of the Champs Elysées. There is
fashion week. The metros are full of historic information.
The structure and architecture speak volumes of past,
present, and future. There is a part of Paris for everyone.
Through my education at AUP, I have had extensive
experience working in a variety of international settings
and am perfectly at home in the kind of dynamic,
internationally focused environment that many organizations
exemplify today as a result of growing globalization. Since
graduating, I have realized that I would like to pursue a
Master’s Degree in African Studies and Development, and am
working towards raising funds to do this.
I have come to really value the close interaction that
AUP students have with faculty and staff. In fact, recently
I was among a group of students invited to attend a Board of
Trustees meeting to talk about student life at AUP. This
goes to show how much student involvement and opinions are
valued here. |
