YSU Western African students leave homeland for opportunity

The YSU program has more technology than programs in Ghana, a graduate said.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- They miss the corn-based banku and kenkey and the soup that just can't be reproduced here.
Pizza, they say, should be reserved for dessert. So should pancakes.
And this weather is no match for the year-round 80-degree temperatures of their western Africa homelands.
But there is a reason they've stayed.
Both Enyinda Onunwor and Richard Nunoo graduated this week with master's degrees in mathematics from Youngstown State University. Both say the education was worth putting up with store-bought seafood and ice-covered winters.
"The math department here is like a hidden treasure," said Onunwor. "It's a very, very good department."
Onunwor, of Nigeria, was 17 when he moved to Cleveland to stay with relatives in December 1995. He attended community college there until he joined the undergraduate scholars program at YSU in 1998.
Nunoo, of Ghana, was 33 when he came to YSU for the master's program in August 2001. He had worked at an office of social security and national insurance trust. Another worker from the office was in the YSU program and recommended it.
Since then, 10 other workers from the office have joined the program.
In Ghana, Nunoo said there were only three universities; now, there are six.
"Getting into college is very, very competitive" in Nigeria, as well, Onunwor said. "Here they beg you to come to school; there you have to beg."
After earning his bachelor's degree from the University of Ghana, Nunoo said the YSU program seemed to have more technology and teach more practical uses of learned concepts.
Dr. Nathan Ritchey, chair of the math department at YSU, said the African students have helped the master's program grow from 10 students four years ago to more than 30 students today; half are from western Africa.
"Just the number of students we have has revitalized the program," Ritchey said. "In addition, we've revitalized a program that has an international flair. It not only helps us mathematically but culturally."
Potential leaders
Ritchey said mathematics programs are traditionally dominated by white males, and it is unusual for them to be made up of students from western Africa. The students are hard-working and intelligent and are good teachers, he said.
"I believe some of these people are future leaders in their countries," he said. "I look forward to the day that happens. They really are complete individuals."
Nunoo and Onunwor said students are still coming from western Africa, forming a group that can talk about a lot together.
"They should work harder to bring more students from Africa," Nunoo said.
"There's so much talent there," Onunwor said.
"We need to learn how to apply these talents ... and we can improve our own countries," Nunoo added.
Onunwor said he has been pleased at the friendliness of Northeast Ohioans -- much different from the impression he had gotten from television stories.
"I really enjoyed the stay here. The people have been very, very nice, very accommodating, much nicer than I expected," Onunwor said, adding that he was surprised when strangers said 'hello' at the airport when he first moved here.
Challenging goal
While the people are friendly, the program has been challenging. Nunoo described his final week of written and oral exams and the defense of his master's project as a "week of torture."
Nunoo's project was creating a Java program for numerical analysis that can run on the Internet. Onunwor tackled a problem that has never been solved before: determining a formula that will give the shortest travel distance on various airline routes. He will continue his research to prove that what he has developed is a better solution than anything else out there.
The two were roommates during their first year in the program, and Onunwor said he would not have survived without Nunoo.
"This guy here is the guy," Onunwor said. "If not for him I would not be sitting here. When I first started, I was going to quit. It was very rough. There is no way I would have made it."
Nunoo now lives with his wife, Catherine, and daughter, Naa Ayimah, who was 4 months old when he moved to the United States. They have been visiting him for the past eight months.
Nunoo said he'd like to stay in the states and can only if he is hired by a firm that provides a work visa. He can make more money here, he said.
He pointed out that his $50 tennis shoes would cost about 80,000 cedis in Ghana -- that's less than $10.
"Staying here, we make more money. There's more opportunity," Onunwor added. "But, one day, I'd like to go back."