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Canfield grad gives back, travels to Rwanda
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Mike DeAngelo, 23, volunteered at an orphanage and nursery school in Rwanda, Africa, this fall. DeAngelo graduated from Canfield High School in 2004, and Ohio State University in 2008. He is currently pursuing his Master's degree in International Studies at the University of Miami (Fla.).
By ASHLEY LUTHERN
aluthern@vindy.com
This fall, a 2004 graduate of Canfield High School went from selling shoes to teaching English in Rwanda.
Mike DeAngelo, 23, was waiting to begin graduate school at the University of Miami (Fla.) and working as a shoe salesman when he decided to pursue overseas volunteer opportunities.
“My job was boring and I didn’t like it,” DeAngelo said. “I just thought there were many better things to do with my time. I love to travel and help people.”
As he researched programs, he found one for volunteers in Rwanda, a country about the size of Maryland in central Africa.
Rwanda is still dealing with the effects of the genocide that took place there in 1994, when about 800,000 people were killed simply for being part of a particular ethnic group, according to estimates by the United Nations.
Throughout October, DeAngelo volunteered at a Rwandan orphanage and nearby nursery school for children ages 3 to 15.
He worked with a class of 3-to-5 year olds, helping them learn nursery rhymes and form letters and numbers.
DeAngelo also helped the teachers with their English, as the Rwandan government phases out French in its curriculum.
“I got close with a couple of the older kids and they had a lot of questions about life in the States,” DeAngelo said. “They asked what color the dirt is, when does the sun come up, and a ton of questions about my family.
It’s kind of sad because you could tell they were so desperate to have their own family.”
The trip wasn’t DeAngelo’s first experience volunteering abroad.
As an undergraduate at Ohio State University, he traveled to an orphanage in Honduras for two weeks last summer and attended a study abroad program in Uganda, which influenced his interest in Rwanda.
His most recent experience differed from the others as he worked in a post-genocide society, visiting memorials such as the one in Nyamata where 10,000 people were killed in a Catholic Church on April 10, 1994.
“The country has come a long way, and I try to convey that to people here, but you can’t see it until you’ve been there,” DeAngelo said.
“They’re such a resilient people. They’ve been through more than any of us could ever imagine and they just keep going.”
DeAngelo plans to return to Rwanda after he completes his master’s degree in International Studies at the University of Miami, and said his mom Renee, who is a nurse, wants to come with him.
“I give to these people, and they give back to me, and I feel like they’ve given me so much more,” he said.