IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9-9-06 CONTACT: PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
SILVER CITY--Innocent Omale and Ogeneovo Dibie have known each other for eight years. They grew up in the same town in Nigeria, went to the same school and graduated the same year. When it came to deciding what to do after high school, they both had the same vision – to study in America. Making that dream possible turned out to be harder for one than the other.
Omale and Dibie are international students at Western New Mexico University. They are part of a group, estimated to be over 500,000 each year by the Institute of International Education, which travel to America to fulfill their higher education dreams. WNMU is hosting 23 internationals this semester from ten different countries including Brazil, Germany, Ecuador and New Zealand.
“The state of education is much better” in America than it is in Nigeria, expressed Omale. The first of his siblings to attend college, Omale is a sophomore studying pre-med and chemistry. In his third semester at WNMU, he arrived a year before his friend Ogeneovo because of the student visa process. “I was denied twice,” says Dibie. He believes it was a system failure that led to his unsuccessful attempts. “We need to change the rules on visas. They (Nigerian government) just feel that you are running away from Nigeria. They don’t believe you’re coming back,” expressed Dibie. His application was accepted in December 2005.
Foreign students looking towards college in America must apply for a student visa that allows four years of study. While some anticipate a laborious and complicated process that finds many applicants in rejection, the US State Department Web site says that it is easier than applicants predict. According to the Web site most applications are processed within two days of arrival. Recent visa changes have made it easier for student applicants.
The Nigerian twosome found Western through Educational Advising Center, a recruiting agency. The center specializes in foreign studies and guides students in their college-seeking path, which includes SAT preparedness. “It took me six months to prepare for the SAT,” said Omale.
As expected there is a period of transition and unexpectedness for the newcomers. Omale says that, “it was a cultural shock, but I’m fully adjusted.” Studying medicine he hopes to get his degree and work in America for a couple of years before returning to Nigeria to help his country in the healthcare sector.
Dibie and Omale expressed amazement in what they refer to as “social disorders” in American society. Referring to teenage pregnancy and promiscuity, Dibie says that those are “not acceptable behaviors,” in Nigeria.
For both it is exciting to be in America living in a land that they once only knew of in movies. While they may be in a strange land they are not strangers – at least to each other.
-30-
PHOTO CAPTION—
Innocent Omale (left) and Ogeneovo Dibie (right) grew up as friend in Nigeria and are now International students at WNMU.
-30-