By: Rukayya Ibrahim Iyayi
The first time I heard about Athens, I thought it was in Greece but No! It was in the United States. Moving from Abuja to Athens for 6 weeks I knew no one–helped me grow more than I ever could have imagined.
I had no idea who I was going to meet or how the experience is going to be, this year is the First time the University of Georgia has hosted the Mandela Washington Fellowship we are the pioneers, the first concern was there was nobody to ask about their experience, we have to go find out ourselves. There was a lot of planning in this program I can tell from how organized the programs are and can see through the hard work and warmth of the co-coordinators
Here’s what I learned from my stay so far from University of Georgia, Athens:
• I have become more open-minded.
As a creature of habit, nothing could have prepared me for how much my day-to-day life would change. From saying yes to events and plans I wouldn’t normally say yes to, I learned to put myself in new situations in order to meet new people and ultimately, to grow as a person. I hate change but here I found it fascinating on my own a few times because I know it’s good for me. It meant putting myself out there–saying yes when invited to try something new, going to events where I didn’t know anyone, and experiencing new things.
• I am becoming a leader
I went from having very few friends and no real network outside of them to having a good group of friends from 20 different African countries and a pretty great network here in Athens. I’m so lucky to have met some great friends, mentors, collaborators with a few commonalities of wonderful support system each giving their best to build the capacities of having a clearer vision as a leader.
I realized like-minded people tend to stick together, but what I love about this space is that so many of us are drawn to each other through our sense of humanity despite huge differences between us in our opinions, lifestyle choices, backgrounds, age, and so many other differences. Just incredible! My experience completely shaped my life–whoI have become and how I will be–and I can’t imagine having it anywhere better.
コメント