A Fellowship in the U.S. opens doors for positive change
Three weeks far away from the fabled desert city of Timbuktu, I am living on the bucolic campus of Wagner College, located on Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. I am one of 1,000 Mandela Fellows, selected from 64,000 applicants in sub-Saharan Africa. The prestigious program, called the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, is sponsored by the U.S. State Department.
My experience so far has featured a series of classes taught by Wagner College professors and tours of New York sites including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Harlem, New Jersey and the Bronx. I have also explored the green borough of Staten Island.
In just three weeks, a dream has become a reality.
The American educational system offers a rich field of choices for international students. There is such an array of schools, programs and locations that the choices can be overwhelming, even for YALI Fellows. It’s important for young African leaders to understand the American educational system so that we can narrow our choices and develop an education plan.
I am honored to be placed in the track of civic leadership at Wagner, a private, liberal arts college known for its academic program, the Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. The college is regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
We are 25 Fellows, 12 men and 13 women between the ages of 25 and 35, representing 19 African countries.
We were formally introduced to each other during a warm opening ceremony organized by our college faculty and administrators. It was our first networking ceremony between fellows, teachers, hub leaders, and host families. Listening to each Fellow explain their work back home, I realized that the future belongs to the new generation of Africans. Together we can use our education and imagination to make a positive change in our communities and make Africa a continent more confident and prosperous with a significant place on the world stage.
We went to work right away, following a schedule filled with networking activities and support sessions.
It’s summertime in New York. The local residents say it’s hot, but as a native of a desert city, I find it cool.
We must familiarize ourselves with the area, making friends with college students and the football players who are staying on campus for the summer. I share my cultural background with them.
Monday through Friday, we continue coursework, studying the American systems of economics, education, civic engagement and entrepreneurship. During a session by Dr. Kevin Farrell, I developed civic leadership skills through the arts. Dr. Farrell educated us with sculpture exercises to express our leadership vision. This was the most inspirational course I have ever experienced in my life.
At the end of the first week, we met Dr. Richard Guarasci, Wagner College president, who inspired us about civic engagement.
Before my departure for the United States, my mentor partner Cynthia Schneider, CEO of the Timbuktu Renaissance Initiative, told me that the fellowship is more than learning. It is enriching my work and building relationships with other partners. It’s about learning new things from the other African Fellows and from the new relationships I create at Wagner College and beyond.
The 25 Fellows are from Africa -- but that is where our similarities end. We are a cohort of diverse leaders, and every day I learn more about their cultural backgrounds, their languages and their countries. We are united by common goals -- to make Africa prosperous, more confident for the next coming generation, and to make our continent proud.
Saturday, July 1, was a memorable day. My hub leader, Professor Claire Regan, picked me up with two other Fellows, Kingdom of Nigeria and Queen of South Africa in her beautiful Lexus car for a tour of Staten Island. We visited Historic Richmond Town, a village depicting American life in the 1700s and 1800s. As a researcher in cultural heritage, learning American history makes me more proactive and more attached to the American civilization. Since my childhood, I have dreamed about studying in the U.S.
Other highlights have been an American barbecue with hamburgers and hotdogs at the New Jersey home of Dr. Ruta Shah-Gordon. It was my first American family experience. Back home in the fabled desert city of Timbuktu, I organize barbecues with friends and colleagues, but experiencing the American one give me a new taste of barbecue.
My first few weeks in the United States have changed my mind about the realities of the world and how developed communities grow. I also realize how to better set goals and define action.
I have seen so much in just a few weeks. With Professor Regan, I learned about archeology, Buddhism and local history at the Staten Island Museum. I was surprised to see an object from my country on exhibit, a chuwara.
This taught me how culture can transcend borders and connect communities.
I have also explored the coastline of this beautiful borough, its beaches and marinas and the majestic Verrazano Bridge that links Staten Island to the neighboring borough of Brooklyn.
When you are born and grow up in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of the Sahara desert , sometimes your vision of the world can just be a standard vision. But when you travel, you see the realities of the world. You must be positive and empower local communities to prosper and take their place in the world.
I have a deep passion for learning and studying and this Mandela Washington Fellowship co-sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Mali is changing my life. My American host college, Wagner, really touches my heart because it’s a school of liberal arts and I have a deep passion for the arts as a researcher of the cultural heritage of Timbuktu.
Professor Claire Regan and John H. Sime contributed to this article.
