International students find Purdue to be a welcoming place.

Why Not?!?

Jonny Lavery came to Purdue from Ireland by way of the College’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. “The thought of studying in the United States dazzled me for two weeks,” Lavery recalls. “I was working in a bar back home, asking customers what I should do. The majority said to do what I wanted to do. But I didn’t know!”

Lavery eventually found his way across the pond, figuring that, as long as Purdue had a coffee shop and a newsstand, he’d be fine. (Purdue has plenty of both.) Fears of being lost, or not having others to talk to, subsided when he arrived at his campus apartment and found other international students who gave Lavery the friendship he needed. “I still consider them good friends of mine today,” he says.

Lavery was on campus for just a short time when materials engineering professor R. Byron Pipes brought a dose of academic reality to him. “I got an e-mail from the professor asking me to come to his office to help his group understand multi-walled carbon nanotubes,” says Lavery. “My knowledge of materials science was Polymers 101. Professor Pipes suggested at the end of his e-mail that I Google carbon nanotubes for a little background reading!

“During my first few weeks, I was really thinking about why I was at Purdue. I was really worried. Now, as I look back, the experience really pushed me in a very positive way.” Lavery says that his stay in the U.S. was both personal and professional. “Professionally, I learned a new area that I can later apply. Personally, I learned about myself and my ability to cope with new situations.”

A Hope For Selflessness

Alfred Okello is originally from Kenya and went to France at the age of 19 to study medicine. But after a struggle with medicine, he changed to engineering. “Going to France definitely let me know my possibilities,” Okello says. “It was in France and at the Ecole Superieure d’Ingenieurs de Luminy in Marseille that I finalized my plans to come to the United States and study in Indianapolis.”

Upon arriving in the U.S., he had to immediately shed any preconceptions of what life might be like. “I first noticed that almost everyone had a personal vehicle. And I questioned my level of English-I realized the difference in my diction compared to Americans,” says Okello.

He left Indianapolis in 2006 for Purdue through the SURF program. “It was time for me to learn again, and this time in materials engineering,” he says. “I had three months to perform experiments and arrive at conclusions. This made me realize that research needs perseverance and hard work.” His experience at Purdue allowed him to compare life in West Lafayette to his home in Kenya.

“There’s this mentality that, in more developed countries like the U.S., there are no problems,” Okello explains. “In Kenya, you think that outside of the country, things are better. But when I came here, I saw normal people with their own way of life. And they have problems, too.” He adds that people in the U.S. have more opportunities, and if they want to make it, they can.

During his time in the states, Okello also saw clear social differences between Kenya and the U.S. “I think Africa is less individualistic,” he reflects. “People tend to do things in groups. When you make a decision, you first consider what your group is also thinking about it.”

The spirit of progress in Kenya is different, too. As a Kenyan, Okello hopes that as the world grows, like his home country, “everyone becomes selfless.” He adds, “Stop asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’ The approach should be trying to understand other cultures, not about gaining.”

A Better Future

Françoise Angoua came to the U.S. to improve her English and has plans to stay through 2010 to complete her PhD in materials science. “I’m from the Ivory Coast-a very small country not even as big as Indiana. This is my second year here, and I’ll graduate soon with my master’s,” she says.

When Angoua arrived in the U.S., after spending four years in France, she was a bit scared and didn’t know anyone. But she was put at ease through the many resources Purdue has for international students. Angoua, whose mother tongue is French, recalls her struggle to learn English: “My language was horrible, but my roommate helped me a lot. She was very helpful, and we still keep in touch.”

Although Angoua doesn’t care much for American food, she does like going to school at Purdue. “People here pay more attention to your work. They don’t pay attention to where you come from; it’s by your work that people judge you. If you’re a good worker, you’ll be fine.”

Angoua speaks affectionately about her family and home in the Ivory Coast. “I have one brother. My father is in the army, and my mother is the head of a high school. I miss them and my country. There’s been a crisis there since 2002, and it’s very bad for the country.

“I’d like to go back there when I’m done. Maybe I’ll be a teacher if I can finish my PhD.”

- Lee Lamb