Africa to America

Cyprian Ngetich with his team

Going to school in another country isn’t always a magical carpet ride like Aladdin, but for one international student, Cyprian Ngetich, it has been a journey to reach new heights. I sat down with Cyprian recently to find out more about his journey to America. Cyprian is a very bright and intelligent young man. He is sophomore at Blue Mountain and is from Africa. I found out a lot about him during the interview I conducted, and I think people can learn a lot from him.

One thing I wanted to know was if it was difficult to adjust to life and college in America. Just like I think any international student would respond, he said, “Yes.” He told me that his first semester was very challenging, and the language barrier was a huge struggle. One thing that surprised me was that he said the weather took a huge toll on him and he was sick for a while because his body wasn’t used to the drastic weather change.

I was very interested in hearing why Cyprian choose BMC. When he was offered a chance to come join the cross-country team here, that grabbed his attention, but he said the thing that caught his heart was how friendly the team was to him and how it was very inviting. The biggest thing that drew him here was that it is a small college but it’s a Christian college.

I am Baptist, and Cyprian attends a Baptist church every Wednesday, so you know the conversation with food came up. I asked him what food from his country should every American try? He told me that while it may sound disgusting, “roasted barbecue goat meat and pumpkin soup” is actually very good.

Cyprian stays away from home for extended periods of time and I was very curious to find out how he felt about being away from home for so long. He started out by saying, “It’s a huge challenge for me.” He told me about his two sisters that live here in the States and how they are his “motivation” to stay here. Cyprian’s dream has always been to live here in America. He states, “I am living in my dream every day.”

Cyprian is an incredible person to learn from and I encourage students to go talk him and become his friend. Even though Cyprian isn’t Aladdin, his magic carpet ride is still reaching new heights every day.