At that time there was less than half the government scholarships that we have now. Added to that there was no GATE programme. A full SAT scholarship to Morehouse College in Atlanta was my ticket to a tertiary education.
Missing home and my mom was the hardest part. I cried on the flight to Miami. I was not on cloud nine from the opportunities that could come from this because I was filled with sadness. I set my goal as finishing this degree and made that my focus.
I scored a perfect 800 on the SAT Maths exam, got all As in Dr Ng's tough courses and graduated with the 3rd highest GPA among the 400+ class of 2002 at Morehouse. No problems there. I am bright and naturally gifted.
Morehouse college is a liberal arts HBCU, historically black colleges and university. Martin Luther King Jr is among the many noted past students. Two years before I started, Atlanta had hosted the 1996 Olympics. In my last year I remember taking walks from Morehouse to downtown Olympic Park.
Fun for me was walking through the malls and taking the buses and trains. Popeyes strips and seasoned fries with spicy mustard or honey mustard sauce was my favourite. I remember playing tennis in the rain. Liming in the computer lab. Sneaking sandwiches from the cafeteria for later. We could eat all we wanted in the cafeteria but were not allowed takeaway food.
I got my first computer in junior year. I had won it in a raffle for completing evaluations. It was an emachines. I never bought any text books and got by from borrowing from others. I worked part-time for spending money. My years at Morehouse was a learning experience. I am thankful for the opportunity and support that I received.
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