By Megan Carrick
Photos by Kathryn Deuel

Leaving family behind to study in a foreign country is an opportunity offered by many universities. Kent State is one such school, with about 2 percent of its enrollment consisting of students from around the world. Here are three students from Kent Stateís International Student Program who have opted to leave their homeland to study in the United States.

Rose Magagula

Rose Magagula left her husband, Cisco, and her three sons, Dabu, Mabuya and Gcina, in the African country of Swaziland so she could study library science at Kent State. Being away from her family has been the biggest shock sheís dealt with since coming to the United States, she says.

Magagula became interested in library science after earning a bachelorís degree from the University of Swaziland and teaching geography to high school students for seven years. She worked as a librarianís assistant at the University of Swaziland to make sure of her calling and says now, ìThatís where I belong.î

Magagulaís proven thatís true. She performed a study, now used as reference material in her university library, on the 1991-1992 drought in her land, looking at its effects on farmers. The drought led to the death of many livestock, and the fields were impossible to plow. The land ìrelied entirely on rain,î she says, and without it life came to a standstill.

ìThe farmers had practically nothing, lived in rural homesteads, and lost about 80 percent of their livestock from the drought,î she says.

Magagula completed a second project, also available in the University of Swazilandís library, on the causes of teacher stress and stress management.

As a Fullbright Scholar, Magagula was able to experience what she calls one of her greatest moments in America. In late July, she participated in a program for Fullbright Scholars in Buffalo, N.Y. She met with other Fullbright students who ìshared the same mission, and they all were from different places.î

During this program, the students volunteered in a soup kitchen. Magagula realized then that her concept of poverty was different than most Americansí. She expected ìtattered and shoelessî people, who, if they smoked, made their own cigarettes. Instead, she was surprised to see the poor not only dressed decently but also smoking cigars.

Aside from that small surprise, the transition to Kent State has been pretty smooth for Magagula. English has come easily for her because, though Siswati is her first language, she began learning English in elementary school.

The only difficulty that remains is being away from her family. They communicate daily with e-mail, but some moments here are hard for her, such as ìwhen you need someone to share with.î Itís the first time the five have been apart, and they donít expect to see each other again until she has completed her masterís, probably in 2000.

Asuman Yavuzogdu

Asuman Yavuzogdu left her parents, two brothers and a secure life in Turkey to come to Kent State.

With a bachelorís degree in psychology from Middle East Technical University and a masterís in audiology and speech pathology from Hacettepe University, both in Turkey, Yavuzogdu had a steady job working as a voice therapy assistant in one of her homeland's hospitals.

Questions she encountered on that job pushed her to further her education, and Hacettepe gave Yavuzogdu a scholarship to pursue her doctorate.

A ìlack of informationî in Turkey about speech pathology and voice led Yavuzogdu to the Ph.D. program here.

In addition to her studies here, she is working as a trainer for the universityís fencing club.

A recognized fencer and a member of the Turkish Fencing Federation, she established and directed a fencing club at Middle East Technical University and volunteered there for 10 years.

ìItís like my child,î she says of her dedication to the club and its members.

Although her work with the Kent State group has helped ease her transition to the United States, some areas of life here have presented problems.

Speaking English properly has been a challenge for Yavuzogdu, even though she learned the language in her Turkish elementary school.

ìSometimes you want to tell a joke or something detailed, but it wonít translate or the meaning is lost,î she says.

Classes can be difficult for her, too. She knows the material, but sometimes she does not understand the professor or doesnít want to answer a question because of her pronunciation.

Not only is it hard for people to understand her when Yavuzogdu is speaking to them, but it is also a challenge in her studies of speech pathology, where pronunciation is especially important. So she is taking lessons at the English Speech/Language Proficiency Center in Wright Hall.

Through all of this, Yavuzogduís goal is to one day ìknow the best in my subject.î

She hasnít decided if she will return to Turkey when she finishes her schooling at Kent State, but she wants to do research, teach or work in a hospital again.

For now, she is satisfied living in the United States and says, ìI know the value of knowledge.î

Bo Zhang

The next two to three years will be long for Bo Zhang. His wife, Dan Qin Heu, and their one-and-a-half-year-old son, Wen Tong Zhang, are about 8,500 miles away in China while heís working on a masterís in English as a Second Language at Kent State.

It will be Zhangís second masterís degree; he has already earned a bachelorís in English literature and language and a masterís in linguistics from Hunan University in Changsha, China, where his wife also works as a computer science teacher.

A graduate appointment scholarship allowed Zhang to attend Kent State, Hunanís sister university. Of the two masterís programs, Zhang says he prefers the one here, which allows for more student participation.

Living in Kent, though, has produced a few problems for Zhang: transportation, food and communication. In China, he relied on a bicycle to get him everywhere; everything he needed was close. Here, he has become a regular passenger on campus buses. But he still finds it difficult to find the meats, vegetables and other ingredients at local stores to use in his cooking.

And although Zhangís English is very good, he hasnít mastered greeting people. He has learned ìHow are you?î and ìHowís it going?î But after that, proceeding with conversation is difficult, which he says makes him ìtimid to communicate.î

Once he returns to China, though, he will have little difficulty communicating. Zhang plans to pass on his first-hand knowledge of the United States to his students, who he says inquire the most about America of all the English-speaking countries.