Anthony Jugmohan, 23, is from Trinidad and Tobago. He chose a historically black college, Benedict College, as the place to further his education.
“I’m currently attending Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina and in Trinidad and Tobago there are numerous career fairs whereby we are afforded the opportunity to choose from various schools,” he says.
“I initially wanted to attended the University of South Carolina, however I chose Benedict College because again I was awarded a full scholarship and I am very comfortable at my college presently.”
Currently Anthony is in his junior year. When it comes to Benedict College, he has nothing but positive comments to share.
“Benedict College is indeed a prominent historically black college and university," he says. "It is a very close-knit environment whereby we as students are fortunate enough to work one on one with our professors and lecturers as oppose to being a number at a public university. Of course here at Benedict it’s a family-oriented school whereby this institution acts as a springboard whereby we as students can certainly delve into future permanent positions in the corporate world basically in my field finance or Wall Street, etc.”
Anthony has become involved in campus activities.
”I’m very much involved within many organizations on my campus," he says. "I am the business manager of the International Student organization. I am also the president of the National Association of Black Accountants. I’m a member of Delta Mu Delta and various other social activities within the immediate community of Columbia, South Carolina.”
This past summer, Anthony spent time at the United Bank of Switzerland on Wall Street in New York getting experience working in the field of finance. He says attending a historically black college or university also known as an HBCU, afforded him the opportunity as an international student to compete with other students to work there.
“The exposure from HBCU’s most people might think you might be at a disadvantage coming from a HBCU, but what I realize is this is the greatest opportunity to be in an environment like this,” he says.
“Not only the opportunity to be afforded, but rather the school and the people you meet they actually are these sort of founded foundations of greater expectations as well as there are many diversity programs throughout the entire states up here. Therefore you find most of the big companies and the recruiters that recruit at you know large Ivy League schools, those are the same recruiters that reach out to HBCU’s and try to recruit intelligent students with a drive to succeed and that was one of the main reasons I was able to compete on this global level because the HBCU atmosphere actually level the playing field for students of all races not only across the United States, but internationally.”
There are a few things Anthony has to say about life here in the U.S.
“First, and foremost I love my food. I love my country’s food. The food up here is similar to Trinidad’s food; however, I consider the food up here very unhealthy,” he says. “Secondly, what I’ve realized when I was in Trinidad the educational system was a very intensive system being that its the British educational system. Across here under the American system it is a more gradual process."
"However, what I have experienced personally is that a more gradual piece of assimilating your work, you can retain your work better as oppose to cramming and passing an exam. So therefore the educational disposition was one and the foods is one as well,” he says.
When asked what does education mean to him, Anthony says...”Education to me within my major Finance is actually networking. What you realize the entire educational arena is so dynamic, fast-pace and volatile that it changes every moment and it changes according to the individual himself or herself and education to me is the experience derived from actually learning. That is what education is to me the experience derived from learning.”
Anthony will graduate in May 2008.
