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Spring 2003

Are you an International Student?

Meet Beatrise Ezonnaebi. Betrise and her family are originally from Nigeria. She has been here in the United States for 9 years. She loves being here because of all the opportunities available to her and her family. She and her husband have been married for almost 23 years and they have five children ranging in age from 15 to 22. Beatrise’s oldest daughter also attends KSU, and she refers to her as her best friend.

Beatrise’s thirst for knowledge began in Nigeria. In her country, it was expensive to attend high school and her family was unable to afford it, so she was not able to attend. This didn’t stop her, though. Later, after meeting her husband and establishing their family, he came to the states to attend school and pave the way for the family. When Beatrise and her children joined him here in the states, her heart’s desire was to go to school. Betrise began her educational journey by first working to get her GED, she then obtained an associates degree in computer networking, and now she is diligently working on getting her undergraduate degree. She started KSU pursuing a degree in Business Administration, but later changed to Human Services after evaluating her real interests. Her next goal is to obtain a masters degree in counseling. Because she feels a natural connection to adolescents and young adults, she would like to serve as a counselor in a position where she can assist this population. She is eagerly looking forward to graduating in the Fall of 2004.

Beatrise is very appreciative and excited to be here at KSU and you can see that every time you see Beatrise. She says that the road has been slow. But Beatrise is persistent and determined to complete her schooling. She is currently taking four classes along with an internship. When asked how she does it she says that she gets a lot of support from her husband and children and she has a strong faith. All of this makes her appreciative for everything she has. She went on to say, "What gets me going is this place (referring to the LLC)"I come in here and I laugh, I get a cup of tea, you make fun and people make you laugh"I keep coming back because of the people." She learned about the LLC from a fellow student, another LLC regular, that has become a good friend. She is now one of the LLC regulars. She says that she came into the LLC and was accepted by the staff, not as a foreigner, but as an individual student with the same needs as any other adult learner.

Beatrise’s positive attitude is contagious. She has such a warm heart and a warm spirit and always comes into the LLC with a smile, ready to spread cheer. She was so excited about coming back to school. When asked what she would tell other adult learners about pursuing a degree, she said, "If I can do it, you can do it."

Do you have multiple challenges as you obtain your degree?

Jacquie is going through a major life transition. The last year and a half has been quite a challenge for her. She is going through a divorce, the children are leaving home, and she lost her brother in the September 11th tragedy. Jacquie’s focus for the past 26 years has been on raising her children, however, over this time she admits that she developed a strong “mommy identity”, but lost touch with “Jacquie.” Her children got older and eventually pulled away to pursue college and other endeavors. She felt lost and emotionally drained.

Jacquie has a Business Management degree from Indiana University, but realized that she needed to update her skills in order to become self-supporting. She visited KSU campus the summer of 2001 and fell in love with it; the beauty of the campus green particularly impressed her. She applied the Summer of 2001 to attend in the Fall, but admissions misplaced her transcripts so she wasn’t able to begin on time. According to Jacquie, this turned out to be a blessing. Her brother Dan, who worked in the World Trade Center in the second tower, was killed in the September 11th tragedy; she was able to go home immediately to family in New Jersey without the concern of dropping classes. She felt worse than she’d ever felt before as she was dealing with losing her identity, going through a divorce, and now she was struggling with the horror of her brother’s death.

While she was in New Jersey, she received a letter from KSU saying that they had found her transcript and she could start school in January 2002 and that’s what she did. She is currently pursuing a teaching certificate at KSU because she found that she enjoyed being with children. She wants to teach the fourth or fifth grade.

Through all of this, Jacquie has a renewed spirit. It has not been easy going through a divorce after 26 years of marriage and losing her brother at the same time, but she is moving forward. She related how she felt on her first day here, “Almost everybody was half my age and they all looked as though they knew what they were doing. There were new acronyms and vocabulary to learn. I had no idea how to use an owl print card and I didn’t know how to type a paper on the computer.”

She says that her biggest thrill since attending college is to see what she has learned with the computer. She used the technology fee of $70 to her advantage to take several computer courses through the lab. She said that initially, it took her a day to type her first paper and she had to constantly ask the IT people to help her. She then related an experience that occurred in December. She went to her professor to inquire about turning in an extra credit paper. The professor told her that it was too late; the paper was due at 10 a.m. and it was 9:05 a.m. As she was heading over to the LLC, she said to herself, “It’s not too late, I still have 55 minutes.” So, she sat down to the computer and started composing. “In 55 minutes, I composed, typed, and ran across campus to turn it in… I knew that I had at least a B, an A was questionable, but I knew that if I did this paper, I would have the A. I felt a sense of accomplishment in knowing that I could complete a quality paper in less than an hour. I have earned “A’s” in all the classes that I have taken this year.”

Jacquie is a very spiritual person, “…if it wasn’t for my faith in God I wouldn’t be able to get through what I have experienced this year.” She also mentions how the LLC has helped her, “I come here to the Lifelong Learning Center because the LLC offers an attractive well-equipped learning center with a welcoming spirit.” Through the LLC I have met many inspiring individuals who are attaining their life goals. Jacquie has taken advantage of the many services provided here at KSU. In addition to IT courses, she taken advantage of career counseling. To help her get through personal stresses she swims at the KSU pool and takes advantage of counseling services at the CAPS center.

“The faculty, staff and fellow students at KSU have played a major role in helping me to focus on my future.”