By: Kimberly Osborne
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Elizabeth Bartek
Dr. Agbese is the newest faculty member of the English Communications department
For one of the first classes that Nigerian-born Dr. Aje-Ori Agbese, assistant professor at Salve Regina University, ever taught at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, she decided to show up the first day in traditional dress.
She enjoyed seeing the reactions of students when they realized that they had a foreign professor. She noticed that many students thought that they weren’t going to understand a single word she said. But, on this particular day, after telling the class where she was from, Agbese got more than just the usual stunned looks of students that she was used to. “I had this one student ask me, after I told her what country I was from, what kind of tree I lived in back home,” said Agbese. As a new addition to the Salve Regina University faculty, Agbese has yet to experience moments in teaching as alarming as this with Salve students. Agbese teaches Journalism I and Understanding the Media this semester at Salve. Throughout her own life, Agbese has had exposure to many media outlets. Her father was a journalist for 40 years and at the age of 6, Agbese had her own radio show. In high school she sang, a talent that her students have had a glimpse of, in a Coca Cola commercial in Nigeria, and before leaving her native home, she was a television reporter for African Independent Television. “My mom likes to tell people that from the moment she had me she thought I would do something with the media,” said Agbese. Out of all the communication media that Agbese has been in contact with, she said that the Internet is the medium that amazes her the most. Agbese said that she is impressed with the way that the Internet has opened up the world and she has used it as a means of staying connected to Nigeria while in the United States. “In this age of globalization you can make anyplace a home,” said Agbese. But even the Internet can’t make up for some of the cultural differences that Agbese has noticed while living in the United States. Agbese said that she believes that people don’t realize how important home is until they leave, and then they miss it. Agbese feels that this culture is a very lonely one. She remembers being amazed at the fact that one’s friends usually call before arriving, instead of just dropping in like she was accustomed to. She also said that she cried and wanted to go home the first time she spent Christmas here, because the way Christmas is celebrated in the United States isn’t as lively as the celebration she and her family has back home. There is one thing that Agbese enjoyed at home that she continues to enjoy in the United States, The Simpsons. Agbese recalls when she and her siblings used to sit in silence as they watched the show, not laughing at the jokes, but once the show was over they would re-enact the scenes and laugh hysterically. “You never grow up, that’s the best part,” said Agbese. Although Agbese has yet to finish a semester at Salve, she said that things are going well for her so far. She said that she doesn’t know what the future holds but she hopes that her time at Salve is beneficial for everyone. “Like I like to say, they haven’t killed me and I haven’t killed anyone,” said Agbese. ” We’re all alive.”