Graduate School

Graduate School(s)
In the Spring of 2002 when I began my undergraduate studies here at the University of Memphis, I believe my very first class was Calculus I. 10 minutes into the class, I thought to myself, "Am I really in a united states university?". I asked this question to myself because
1. Growing up in Lagos, I had way better teachers who were paid at a lower wages but had passion for their students to learn and understand.
2. My teacher at U of M was so terrible, she made me think I did not understand the subject matter that I was already very familiar with.

So what happened? I got upset & disappointed. I asked my very close friend if this was how American universities were. I did not stop there though, I went to my college advisor's office and complained to her. For a supposedly shy student to mention to his adviser that he thinks his teacher is incompetent, you know that I was serious. Looking back, I had 6-7 years of foresight. What do I mean?

Throughout my 4.5 years of undergraduate time, I put that teacher-incompetency behind me & pushed through with my grades with little or no help or inspiration/ motivation from most, but not all, my teachers. I graduate with two (2) Bachelors of Science degrees in 4 1/2 years with a 3.34/4.0 GPA. My degrees were in Computer Engineering & Electrical Engineering.

However, when I applied to other more prestigious universities for graduate studies, but did not get admission, I had to settle for my alma mater, I totally lost any inspiration which was reflected in my grades.

At this point in time (Nov '08), I am temporarily taking classes at U of M. I gained admission to Gainesville, Fl...University of Florida for a Masters in Management (MSM). In about a week, I will get news of my Teachers Assistantship offer.

The MSM program is ranked #11 best in all U.S. colleges, I have told myself: either I go to UF, or I do not go to any other university that I have to settle for. Also, I should not have to pay tuition to attend college, that system just does not even make sense to my mind, at all. After all, U.S. public universities are not-for-profit/ non-profit organizations.

Speaking of,...,I read in the U of M Daily Helmsman newspaper today that the median salary for public university presidents is $427,400...

...almost a year later...

I have completed my Spring semester at University of Florida on a graduate assistantship teaching students for a CLAST exam. This summer, it turns out the state of Florida decided to cancel the exam and pull funds out of the department where I teach. Great, this leaves me without an assistantship. The Fall starts in exactly a month so I've been searching all over the place for a GA or TA. By God's grace, I'll find one.

...about a month later...

And by God's grace, I found a great assistantship on campus that pays my tuition, and the stipend is more than double what I was getting before. When one door closes, another one opens...in my case and better door opened.

Praise God.

...now October 2011, I graduated with a Master of Science in Management from the University of Florida. I had amazing teachers/professors and had an absolutely great time in Florida.

My interpretation of the U.S. lottery

In the movie, "The Island" (2005), directed by Michael Bay, there are people who live in an underground city in the middle of a desert. In this city, these people are clones of original human beings, although the clones are not aware of this fact.

Once a while one of the clones win "the lottery." The lottery, according to the island will win a clone the opportunity to some paradise somewhere. The truth is that wealthy individuals cloned themselves as an insurance policy, so that when a lung or heart or some other part of their body gets damaged, this rich person can have it replaced by harvesting his/her clone. So that when Senator Richie has a kidney disease, his clone 'wins the lottery' but his clone is really going to his demise.

What am I saying?
Every November, the United States of America holds a lottery so that the winners could become citizens. The question is, are they going to live a rosy life after they win? Will the winners live in a comfortable country in exchange for working odd jobs for the rest of his life just to keep up with bills. When a lottery winner, who was a medical doctor in Sri Lanka gets to the U.S. and finds a job managing a small bank, was that really a step up in her career?


To put it bluntly, I saw a picture of America needing more middle class workforce, so they use the lottery to get that diverse workforce.

Note: I am not saying that this is the actual interpretation of the U.S. lottery. This is just my personal interpretation of a few cases.