At my very first NAFSA Conference in May 2025, I spotted a familiar face. It was Rita Rowand, my university advisor who had helped me get to the United States as an international student many years ago. The last time I’d seen her was at my graduation, and here I was, now working in international education—the very field that had transformed my life.
But getting here required a leap of faith that once felt impossible.
I first met Rita when I was attending a U.S. university branch campus in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), my first stop studying abroad from Nigeria. Two years into my program, the university was discontinuing operations, and we were given two options: transfer to another university in the UAE or make the jump to the United States.
At first, I leaned toward staying with the familiar: transferring to another university within the UAE. I had made genuine friendships, established routines, and built a life. If homesickness struck, a six-hour plane ride could take me back to the comfort of my birthplace. Why venture into an unknown territory?
“You will grow and find opportunities you never thought of,” Rita told me during one of our advising sessions. She encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone, to trust that I was capable of more than I realized.
Despite my fears and doubts about navigating an entirely new country, I made the leap. It turns out she was right; I could not only handle but thrive through such a big change.
In the United States, I continued learning how to navigate a completely new place with a culture different from what I was used to. For example, I learned to use Fahrenheit instead of Celsius, measure in miles instead of kilometers, write “program” instead of “programme,” and so on.
Beyond these adjustments, I discovered food diplomacy—that I can build bridges by bringing a variety of people together, including those who didn’t see eye to eye, around my dinner table to partake in Nigerian cuisine. Toward the end of semesters, when funds were low, my college friends knew they could count on finding Tuwo Miyar Kuka, a Northern Nigerian dish made of rice swallow and baobab leaf soup, at my spot. To this day, whenever I travel back to Nigeria, I still get requests to bring back Yaji, a seasoned pepper spice that I sprinkle on our meals, for my friends.
But perhaps most significantly, in the U.S., I discovered a different career path. I arrived thinking I would pursue medicine and become a medical doctor, but exposure to new opportunities led me toward storytelling. I developed what I see as a superpower: the ability to view the world through multiple lenses, which helps me connect to authentically with all kinds of people and understand multiple viewpoints—skills that now serve me daily in my work.
That reunion with Rita at NAFSA reminded me that growth is not a solo journey; it takes a village: the family and mentors who see potential we can’t yet see in ourselves. Now, through my work, I get to pay it forward by promoting life-changing opportunities in the hopes that others will make their own leap towards possibilities.
How has a connection you made through international education shaped who you are today? Share your stories at Embracing Connections: One Story at a Time.