Margret Ssekanlongo welcomed Davis Rideout into her home with a warm hug and with words that had deeper meaning than he understood at the time: My sonny. My sonny is home. Last fall during his semester at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities BestSemester Uganda Studies Program (USP), Davis was on the Intercultural Ministry and Missions Emphasis track, which meant he lived with and was integrated into Mama Margrets family instead of living on the Uganda Christian University campus.
Though he learned much from all of the members of his host family and living with a Ugandan family was a wonderful experience, his relationship with his new mother became the most significant relationship he had in Uganda.
Over lunch one Saturday early in his time in Uganda, Mama Margret began telling Davis about the important role education had played in her lifeshe had been a teacher and a principaland in the life of her children. Her impromptu monologue then shifted to describing the incredible opportunity Davis had in going to college and how he should be very, very appreciative of it. She described how difficult it is to get a good education in Uganda.
Then she said, I want to receive an invitation to your graduation because I want to see my son graduating. And she emphasized her need to know the graduation details as soon as possible, so she could save her money for the trip and work to get a visa. Davis was shocked at how important his graduation was to her. He knew she would need to save for about nine months in order to fund such a trip. And he couldnt understand how watching him graduate could mean that much to her.
It hit me in a very profound way that it didnt work with my understanding of money and graduation, he said. It challenged me a lot. Plus, hed always just seen college as a normal, expected next step, not as a cherished privilege. Mama Margret gave him a different perspective.
He later asked her more about why attending his graduation was so important to her that she would sacrifice so much to come. This is just something a mother does for a son that she loves, she replied.
These conversations during Davis first month in Mama Margrets home set the tone for his USP semester. [Her reply] brought me into a different attitude and helped me to appreciate my time there in a different way and appreciate my studies, too. That colored my time in a very blessed way, says Davis.
Since returning from Uganda, hes put plans in motion for Mama Margret to attend his December 11 graduation. His school, Eastern University (PA), is helping sponsor Mama Margret for her visa, and Davis and his three roommates are looking forward to hosting her in their off-campus house. Hosting her will be a wonderful thing, says Davis. Well put her in her own room and get her as comfortable as possible. Plenty of tea is also on the menu to help Mama Margret feel right at home.
And her presence at his graduation ceremony is sure to add some extra weight to the hard-earned diploma that will be placed in Davis hand as a proud mother looks on.
In Their Own Words
My semester with the Australia Studies Centre opened my eyes to my identity as a global citizen committed to justice. Until I was immersed in another culture, I was blind to the fact that some of my beliefs were American, rather than universal. I was forced to re-examine my perceptions of truth, my identity, my place in the world. I moved from a vague understanding that I could learn from other cultures to a deep respect for the knowledge bestowed upon me by my Aboriginal teachers and Australian friends. They taught me to look at the world in a new way and showed me truths that had previously been hidden. My classmates and I came to Australia with a dormant passion. The ASC program shook us awake. It sent us back to the States on fire and ready to DO something about poverty, foreign policy, environmental destruction, whatever issue had grabbed hold of our souls. We are no longer passive citizens. We are zealously seeking to act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
Carissa Fish, Messiah College (PA) senior and BestSemester Australia Studies Centre student Spring 2010
I remember the first time I walked through the main quad in one of Oxfords most beautiful colleges and timidly knocked on my professors door for my first tutorial on the crusades. At the time, I was a terrified visiting student from a small liberal arts college in Tennessee who up until the previous semester had been a journalism major and had never actually taken a course in medieval history. My semester abroad profoundly shaped me in three ways. First, I gained a new perspective on learning as I was introduced to the rigors Oxfords tutorial systemone that was vastly different, extremely difficult, and ultimately rewarding. Second, I gained a greater appreciation for my home institution and felt equipped and motivated to take advantage of all that my university had to offer. And finally, I developed a deeper interest in my discipline, one which has brought me back to Oxford as a graduate student to pursue my love of medieval history where that love began.
William Murrell, Lipscomb University (TN) graduate, BestSemester Scholars Semester in Oxford student Spring 2008, and current masters degree student at the University of Oxford