One of the students, Nigena Hamim, stated his goal in life, he said, “I have a dream of fighting ethnic divisions in my country and I am encouraged to realize my vision…After all, I believe that I was born at a time like this to serve and develop my community.” He already has a communal dream that he plans to further during his study at Morehouse.
Strive Masiyiwam, philanthropist and businessman is sending ten students that will start this fall on full scholarships and Hamim is one of them. Masiyiwam is confident in the education that Morehouse will give to these students. He says, “What I want to see coming from the student who comes out of the Morehouse system is a much more confident, self-assured, more complete young man who is not struggling to find out who he is in the world,”
“Mr. Masiyiwa and his wife really have a heart for seeing talented students who have leadership potential go get the best education in the world and then come back to Africa to lead the kind of changes they want to see on the African continent They hope the young men will bring the kinds of 21st -century management, leadership, social justice, civic engagement, all those things Morehouse provides, back to the
continent to lead Africa into the 21st century.” said Philip Howard ’87, vice president for Institutional Advancement.
One of the students, Abel Gumbom, says, “I expect Morehouse to help me become the agent of positive change in the community and in people’s lives,” All of these young men want to be a catalyst for change. William Bynum, vice president for Student Services; and Kevin Williams ’85, dean of Admissions, flew to Zimbabwe to interview the 20 students in June. “All of them, without fail, talked about returning home to do something related to their fields to improve the conditions of their fellow countrymen,” said Bynum. “I’m very excited about these young men. They are academically talented, driven, and once they make that cultural adjustment, the sky’s the limit on what they can achieve.”
The students arrived in Atlanta on Aug. 5, four days before New Student Orientation, so they can adjust to their new surroundings. All will have American roommates in the College’s Dubois International House residence hall.
Spelman College officials will observe the Morehouse program this year as Masiyiwa will send 10 female students to Spelman next year.
You can view the original link on Morehouse’s website here: http://www.morehouse.edu/news/archives/002410.html
