By Muawiya (Muawi) Adamu (YES 2007-2008, Nigeria, hosted by IRIS in Adel, IA)  

A few months ago, I received an email from the staff of American Councils for International Education notifying me that I had been selected to attend the 2018 Civic Education Workshop in Washington, DC to serve as a mentor to current YES participants by sharing about my life after the YES program. The joy, excitement, and jubilation cannot be quantified. It was an opportunity to be an international mentor and meet and learn from amazing YES students from all over the world. It was also a perfect break from my day-to-day life, where I work more than 100 hours each week at a federal medical center in Jalingo as a medical doctor.

The preparations for coming to DC started immediately: scheduling a visa interview, writing my bio, taking over the YES Instagram account for a day, and making a PowerPoint presentation about my activities after the exchange year. On February 23, I embarked on the 16-hour flight from Abuja to DC via Frankfurt, Germany. The journey became a lot more fun when all three of the CEW alumni mentors met in Frankfurt to take the final flight leg to DC together.

The CEW participants were a well-selected group of diverse, interesting students – full of energy and enthusiasm and always ready to listen to our alumni stories! Whether at breakfast, on the bus, or after our presentations, YES CEW students were always full of questions, thus demonstrating their readiness to take on the new challenges, responsibilities, and status of being YES alumni.

In addition to speaking to the students about our achievements, we had a series of meetings with Senators, Congressmen, and their staffers to discuss our experiences as exchange students, achievements as alumni, and the impact of the program on our lives. Before the congressional meetings, we were all very nervous and unsure of what to expect. However, our first meeting with Congressman David Young from Iowa (my host state) was the best. He was so nice, friendly, and genuinely interested in our stories. I was so honored when Congressman Young actually requested to take a picture alone alongside me! What made this an even more amazing experience is the juxtaposition with my home country of Nigeria, wherein it is nearly impossible to meet (much less discuss issues with!) the politicians that represent us. Meeting Congressmen Young and the other congressional members that week rekindled my interest in representing the people of Nigeria one day. 

The Civic Education Workshop organizers were truly the best. They adapted their presentations to the students’ level of comprehension and were always ready to answer questions. In one week, they prepared the students to take on new challenges, be changemakers in their communities, and embrace limitless possibilities as future global leaders. 

Civic Education Week is more than a workshop. It’s a week of learning new themes of civic engagements, human rights, civil movements, and democracy and how students will choose to interact with these as alumni. It’s about making friends for life, getting inspired by alumni, and touring the beautiful city of Washington, DC. 

Although our role as alumni mentors was to mentor and inspire the students, we were inspired to do more as alumni by the tireless CEW staff, by the students, and by the U.S. Department of State. 

The workshop may be over, but the memories created, friends made, and impact of the experience is forever. Thank you to the YES program, U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, American Councils for International Education, American Civics Center, and Jim Dykstra for this wonderful opportunity.