The Power of the Passport

            Through travel I have overcome negative Eurocentric concepts of the African American. I have overcome several statistics that said I would not make it out of the “ghetto,” not graduate from high school, and I would not make it to college. Currently, I attend one of the most culturally advanced universities in Oklahoma, Langston University. I’m a member of the E.P. McCabe Honors program and a Regents Scholar. I have completed over 150 hours of community service, I have been on the Dean’s Honor Roll for four semesters, as well as the President’s Honor Roll. The summer study abroad program to The Gambia and Senegal, West Africa has benefited me academically, professionally and, personally.

          

Academically, the thirty days spent in West Africa, I have attended class regularly and completed volunteer work in the courts and schools dealing with the social welfare of the people as it relates to my major, Sociology. I have obtained six credit hours studying the history and culture of the people from The Gambia and Senegal. There are different tribal languages such as Wollof, Jola, and, Fulla throughout both countries. I have visited historic landmarks such as Alex Haley’s Juffureh Village in The Gambia as well as Gore’e Island, and the Door of No Return in Senegal. I learned to offer my English skills, to professionally describe my country’s culture, integrate with local families, and travel regionally while abroad.

            Professionally, I have gained the global competence to jump start my career and make myself more marketable; I have improved my ability to work professionally in international settings as well as increased my awareness and adaptability to diverse cultures. I sought to become familiar with the major currents of global change and understand the capacity for effective communication across cultural and linguistic boundaries and I did.  It was exciting to meet professionals in my field of study and join multicultural work teams. As a result of studying abroad, I gained a greater sense of independence and open mindedness.

               As an African-American woman, there has always been a struggle for a sense of self-identity. Our
society in America seems to be not as aware of the depth of African culture as perhaps we should.  Consequently, the trip to West Africa helped me to answer some of the questions as to what it means to be “Black” in America.  I have allowed this trip to change me for the better; I yearned to tell my younger siblings of my great adventures in West Africa. I am the eldest of five children, and my mother is a disabled single parent. My siblings look up to me, and by obtaining my passport and traveling outside of our own country I have showed them that the world is ours.