By Leslie Bueno
For some people, moving more than 5,000 miles away from home might be too much of a challenge. For chemical engineering senior Michelle Ogheneovo Imarah, that was a challenge she was willing to take. Michelle is an international student from Nigeria with big plans for her future.
When Michelle first knew she was coming to UK, she was nervous as she didn’t know anything about Kentucky; but she was quickly able to overcome that feeling. Through student organizations and friendships, she has been able to make UK feel like home.
“I can’t see myself getting my engineering degree anywhere else other than UK. From the beginning, I felt welcomed. I found different people from Nigeria who are also international students and I found my engineering friends that I can learn with as well, which is the National Society of the Black Engineers. It feels like it's my second home,” said Michelle, who is also a member of the African Student Association.
With the scholarships awarded to Michelle, she has been able to pursue her goal of a civil engineering degree.
“We already know college tuition is very expensive so getting scholarships made it possible for me to come to UK. If I had not gotten them then I probably wouldn’t be in school right now. I wouldn’t have come to America to get a degree. That’s the most important thing that my scholarships have done. I also feel like my hard work is being seen and noticed so it’s an encouragement to keep me going and doing better.”
As Michelle nears the end of her undergraduate journey, she plans to keep her options open after graduation as she hopes to go to graduate school but would also like to find a full-time job. One thing she knows for sure is that she would like to return to Nigeria in the future to use her knowledge and skills to help build up her country.
