New Country, University, and Career
Kenny Omoseebi has experienced a lot of changes in the past few years. When he graduated from UNCG in December, 2001, he had adjusted to a new country, earned a degree from a new college, and discovered a new career goal.
Kenny came to the US from Nigeria in 1999 with a degree in Chemistry and a plan to study pharmacy in America. When he learned he'd need credentials from a university in the states to supplement his degree from Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, he enrolled in a second-degree program in Biochemistry at UNCG. Toward the end of his three semesters on campus, he discovered a talent and passion for teaching chemistry that led him to set his sights on education, not pharmacy.
Kenny learned that he would be coming to the US as he was finishing his first college degree in Nigeria. He had applied for permission to immigrate under the US Government's Diversity Program, which randomly grants visas to applicants from places with low immigration numbers. The chances of being selected were "one in a million," he laughs.
Transition made easier by help from Relatives
His transition to life in America was made easier by the fact that English is the official language of Nigeria (Kenny also knows Yoruba, one of three other languages spoken there), and so he did not have a language barrier. "You speak English so well," people tell him. Having an aunt living in Greensboro who had immigrated here previously was an enormous help too; he has lived with her family and they have been "very supportive," Kenny says.
Kenny made the transition to the American classroom with great success, earning a 3.7 GPA for his work at UNCG. "The pace was faster [here]" he says, "with more reading and other assignments, but after the first semester I got adjusted very well." Adding the perspectives of life sciences to his physical science background taught him a lot, he found, and he was pleased to learn new methods and instrumentation in his labs. In addition to courses in advanced Chemistry and Biology, he took elective courses in Accounting, Economics, and Management, thinking they would be helpful if he ever decided to pursue an MBA.
Outside the classroom, Kenny joined the Skeptical Chemists' Club and the African Students' Union, whose purpose is to help the University community understand and appreciate African culture. He also gained professional experience while still a student. He did a summer internship in the laboratory of Transtech Pharma in High Point and attended a conference of the American Chemical society with Dr. Gregory Raner, who was his advisor for an independent research project. Kenny presented the results of his study of enzyme kinetics at that meeting.
New Career Objective Began with a Part-time Job
Of all his activities at UNCG, the most influential one began as a part-time job during Kenny's last semester. In response to an appeal for chemistry majors to tutor beginning students, he began working with Special Support Services, a campus program which offers its participants out-of-class help. For 8 to 10 hours a week, he met with four chemistry students on a regular basis. "I loved doing that," Kenny says. "I discovered a new talent I didn't know I had. . . . I can make things very simple." His students told him, "You explain things better than our lecturers." The satisfaction he found in tutoring brought Kenny his new career direction. He is hoping to find a position as a lateral-entry science teacher in a local high school, where he can teach full-time and begin work toward licensure at the same time. "Money is not everything after all," he reflects, thinking of the gap in salaries between teaching and pharmacy. "You have to be satisfied with what you are doing and I would be happy passing knowledge on to others. Teaching blends harmoniously with my ability and talent. All the money in the whole world will not bring happiness if one's job does not bring satisfaction and a sense of self-fulfillment."
Kenny remembers that when he first began to look at colleges in this area, people told him that UNCG was a good place to study science. "That has been absolutely true," he says. "I love it here . . . People have been very friendly, from the department head, to lecturers, to colleagues in class. They have made my coming here a lovely experience."
Recalling his time spent on campus, he says he'd only change one thing--he'd begin tutoring sooner!
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Page updated: 06-May-2009
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