Isabella Aghogu

Charles had been in the United States for nine years—more than enough time to make his advice and experiences invaluable. He shared these experiences in an eye-opening chat with me recently. He also shared practical advice as well as new information 

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Setlinn Article | "Living in the US opened my mind": A chat with Charles Akwari

Charles had been in the United States for nine years—more than enough time to make his advice and experiences invaluable. He shared these experiences in an eye-opening chat with me recently. He also shared practical advice as well as new information about working and studying in the United States that you don’t easily find elsewhere. His interview was honest, brilliant, and nothing short of inspiring. Read on to follow his journey.

He grew up in Nigeria and had most of his early support and school sponsorship provided by his parents. He had his bachelor's degree at the 

, and worked shortly after That for 2 years in Port Harcourt. 

Soon after that, Charles decided that living with his family in Lagos would be cheaper than his life in Port Harcourt, so he moved to Lagos. However, the transition to Lagos was different than he expected. Being out of Lagos for a while and having to adapt to traffic and the general lifestyle was difficult for him. This, along with his discomfort with work at the time, propelled his decision to leave Nigeria and search for a place where he could run his master's program and find funding for the master's program.

His plan was to apply to as many schools as he could and start working on the requirements, which included the 

. He also needed to talk to professors for recommendations and prepare his transcripts.

One interesting thing about the way Charles got his visa was that he took standardized exams that his school did not require, such as the GRE and

; all of this was for the sake of the embassy. This way, he covered all the bases and did everything possible not to be caught unawares. 

He was interviewed by a lady who checked his biometrics and asked him certain basic questions like where exactly he would be going, what school he would be attending, and how he got his full scholarship and stipend. 

As for his scholarship, he got it because his work and undergrad research were things his coordinator wanted him to work on as well.

When asked what he would do after his studies, he said that he would Come back to his job in Nigeria and apply for a higher position.

A caveat was that he was not dressed officially, dispelling one of the myths that most people have about visa interviews. He was dressed in traditional Nigerian ankara and sandals.

However, he told me that he maintained eye contact with his interviewer, and I believe his composure and confidence were big pluses.

In his experience, the learning experience was very different when compared with Nigeria.

Adapting to the new system was difficult, but he used resources and the system, such as the library and tutors, to gain footing. The schooling experience in general was good, and the quality of education received was high. The courses are also bite-sized in order to facilitate learning. Understanding is what is looked for, and this helped his assimilation. 

Work during school wasn't much. He worked 20 hours during the school week; campus work.

After school though, he really started to see and feel the system.

When asked if he had challenges getting jobs after school, He said yes, that most jobs did not sponsor visas at that point, not minding how competent you are. In order to apply for a work visa, he needed sponsorship and a job. He applied for many jobs, got interviews, but still wasn't able to get jobs because of the sponsorship challenges.

However, he kept applying but changed his strategy; he started applying to states where he did not know anyone, thus widening his search, convinced that he would find something that would work for him. He searched for jobs based on states. It was a difficult process, but going the extra mile worked for him.

He was ready to travel for interviews at this point, as long as the concerned organizations were comfortable providing sponsorship for the work visa. Such intentional drive and effort were instrumental in landing him his first job.

Another interesting thing about Charles was how he was intentional about acquiring skills before leaving school and how he started taking electives in all his departments. He recognized that skills would give him an edge in the job market and began to work towards them on time.

Skills like data analysis were a plus for him. When he switched to an MBA, he was still taking data science courses. 

He cleverly took a look at jobs and their requirements before getting started, so he knew what was hot in the job market before even finishing school. By taking these elective courses every semester, he developed his aptitude and capacity.

For accommodation, Charles did not have anyone in the country that he could stay with. When he got there, he got a hotel and got 20 percent off the bills for two weeks to allow him to settle down and find alternative accommodations. As soon as he got to school, he was able to find a community of Nigerians he could communicate with almost immediately. From there, he was able to find a place.

He learned from his own experience that the best way to handle this is to email the African organization in the school; every school has one.

They could have found accommodations for him even before he came around or resources on how to get housing. This, however, was a lesson for him.

He had been home a couple of times in the latter years. but he felt homesick in the first few years when he got there. He had no friends that he knew around, the food was new, and he couldn't easily adapt in the beginning. 

He dealt with loneliness by integrating himself with the system. Rather than waiting to have Nigerian friends, he joined organizations dedicated to international students; there he found friends and participated in activities around his environment.

He did not experience a lot of culture shock in the United States. The few he experienced were quite amusing. 

For instance, when he first got there, he was surprised that running across the road was not something they normally did. Waiting for the pedestrian crossing was also new. Which is very different from the experience he had in Nigeria. 

Cooking African food originally was expensive, too, so he had to look at other options for American food. Eating African food at this point was a luxury for him.

Another factor that played here was the fact that he did not originally travel with plenty of food when he was leaving Nigeria for the first time because he was not used to American food, and it was difficult for him to adjust at that time.

In his later years, though, he became able to afford African food, and he ensured to pack plenty of foodstuffs when traveling back from Nigeria whenever he visited. 

He told me that he was really careful with his actions in the US; especially because it was a new environment, he recognized the way a bad record could seriously affect his stay there, and so he lived by his usual principles. It was nothing for him to do because he knew that the system worked as long as he abided by the rules.

Aside from his financial status and career, Charles told us that living in the United States has enhanced his mind and the way he processes the world around him. His perception changed, and today he sports an open mind. Being able to ask "why" when met with new concepts and understanding people's motivations beyond surface value, as well as being tolerant of different kinds of people.

An interesting thing he said was that it helped him to learn and read more; his hunger for knowledge, curiosity, and sensitivity to the world have been enhanced and transformed.

Career wise, his experience has been similarly outstanding because, in his words, "the US is a country that rewards hard work." Peace of mind as well that comes from being in a country that has a system that works.  Basic amenities are also provided to make life easier and better.

He believes that one should use Google as a resource if they have questions that they need answers to. 

Also, don't wait until you have money to begin your application process; there are many schools that waive application fees for students; apply there first. Always communicate with the schools to find out if they waive application fees.

 look for schools that offer assistantships

. Alternatively, email all the departments you can find to find out if they have any available graduate assistantships. For undergrads, look for schools that offer merit scholarships. If you don't have the resources, you'll need to do the extra work.

For people in STEM, or in healthcare-related courses, there are lots of companies willing to give loans to people in this category because it's easier to get a job and pay the loan back.

Charles believes that one should do extra research and go the extra mile if resources are not available.

He believes that with hard work and the right resources, nothing is impossible.

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