Ajie Attawia - The Son of the Student

We left Sierra Leone because my father started university here about 15 or 16 years ago in the United States. There was a visa application he filled out for our family to join him as a student coming to USA.

The first thing that surprised me, when I arrived in the USA, was that if you were hungry, you can alleviate it quickly. In my country you would have to wait for your mother to prepare lunch or dinner time, or if you’d go to a restaurant you had to wait for it to be prepared. However being so young here in America, it amazed me to order food from one window and getting it at the next window. In a matter of minutes your hunger is quenched.

As time went by, I entered into pharmaceutical sales and after a few years I started travelling. I did not have a direct boss or had to work in an office 9 to 5. I would like to call myself a serious learner, or at least be one. I think the United States is a good start ...

It is a country that opens up your mind and opens you up to experiences, so you can go out in the world and apply them.

I am looking forward to going back to my country and applying everything that I have learned here.

America creates a space where you can grow, learn, and expand.