Six Rwandan students to attend Hendrix in the fall

By JESSICA BAUER
LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

Many international students who attend college in the United States explore career opportunities within the country and start life anew after graduation.

However, the 25 students from Rwanda who toured the Hendrix College campus Thursday plan to graduate from U.S. institutions and then bring that knowledge back to Rwanda to become leaders and help rebuild the country after the 1994 genocide.

This program began at Hendrix during the 2007-08 school year with only four Rwandan students and the goal of this year's session is to not just educate the students to help them develop their country, but to form a common bond among local colleges, according to Dr. Peter Gess, director of international programs.

Gess said six of the 25 students will be attending Hendrix in the fall and others will attend the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Harding University, Philander Smith College, Wofford College and Ouachita Baptist University.

"Hendrix being small in size, it was a good opportunity to bring together a consortium of universities so more students could participate this year," Gess said Thursday.

- Advertisement -

The 25 students were chosen during a selection process in April that involved Arkansas college personnel, including Hendrix officials, and was based on national test scores, a written English test and an oral English interview, according to Gess.

"During the interview, we did not just look at their English speaking ability, although that was an important part of it, but it was sort of a way to measure the kind of success they could have in the situation we have here by asking lots of cultural questions and liberal arts questions," Gess said.

When asked what students want to study in college, Gess said the majority of them would talk about physics, biology, chemistry or math. However, he said he told the group those who attend Hendrix will also be enrolled in liberal arts classes to provide them with a well-rounded education.

As far as what the students want to do in Rwanda after moving back, Gess said the students all have different ideas of how they want to help, but their ultimate goals are all the same.

"There are students interested in engineering and construction to build infrastructure from railroads to roads to buildings, there is a student who is interested in computerizing medical records and many are interested in the world of pharmaceuticals," Gess said. "Each of the students' foci are different, but overall the common goal they share is developing their country."

Jeanne Umuhire, who is one of the students chosen for the program, said she plans to pursue a career in the medical field when she returns to her home country.

"I want to go to medical school and become a doctor because I've always been interested in helping all people," Umuhire said. "I want to do a residency in psychology because there are not that many people who study the mind in Rwanda."

Umuhire does not know where she will be studying in the fall yet, but she said she would like to be placed at Hendrix to take advantage of the school's biology and chemistry programs.

The Rwandan students arrived in Arkansas over Memorial Day weekend and have been taking an intensive English class at UALR to prepare for college. Umuhire said they have been having fun in the Natural State, too, by mountain climbing, canoeing and seeing different sights around the state.

"When you think of the United States you think of lots of roads and buildings and industry, not nature like it is here, so this was a very good place to start," Umuhire said. "And Arkansas is very friendly and welcoming and it's an easy place to get used to because everyone is so nice."

Although the students from Rwanda, along with the people they may help in the future, directly benefit from this program, Gess said he sees it as a two-way street.

"There's the altruistic side of it with the idea of service as we are helping Rwanda recover from a horrible part of its history by educating its young people," Gess said. "And there's also the side that is directly benefiting Hendrix. Hendrix is internationalizing its students on campus and the community."

He said having a large number of students from other countries, whether they are on an exchange program or simply part of the international program, creates new experiences for the local students as well.

"I think it's great for students to be exposed to their counterparts from around the world," Gess said. "That really enhances the whole learning process and the whole teaching process."

--
Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
Procurement Consultant
Gsm: +250-08470205
Home: +250-55104140
P.O. Box 3867
Kigali-Rwanda
East Africa
Blog: http://www.cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID : Kayisa66