Ugandan Student Aims to Power a Nation

Story Posted: Mon, Oct 30, 2006

By Rachel Partin

“I couldn’t believe the rain!” says OSU electrical and electronics engineering student, Eunice Naswali, describing her initial impressions of Oregon. The 21-year-old moved to Corvallis from Uganda, a country with more than 28 million inhabitants in East Africa.

Naswali, who arrived at OSU two years ago, chose electrical engineering because she feels it incorporates the most math and physics while allowing her to “solve problems and build stuff.” Also, the job market in Uganda is favorable toward electrical engineers as the country tries to solve its energy problems.

Uganda uses hydroelectric power, but during the dry seasons, there is not enough water to supply the electricity needed to sustain even just Kampala, the capital city of nine million people. Naswali lives mostly in Kampala, but on Christmas breaks, she returns to her father’s hometown of Mbale in the eastern region of the country. She hopes to expand the electrical grid in Uganda to reach other rural cities like Mbale.

Many Africans who study in the United States remain here afterward, but Naswali is committed to returning to Uganda and using her education to help her country and perhaps even all of East Africa. Naswali is on exchange through Seattle-based Leadership Advancement International (LAI), which provides scholarships to university students in Africa to study in the United States with the stipulation that the recipients return to their native countries for at least two years after completing their studies.

Naswali, however, plans to stay permanently in Uganda. “LAI provides me with a good network of fellow East Africans with whom I can collaborate in the future,” says Naswali. In fact, two of her best friends from Uganda received the same LAI scholarship and study in Portland and Eugene. “I feel truly blessed to be in the U.S., especially in such close proximity to my friends,” she says, “I know I am here for a purpose, and I will not take that for granted.”

Naswali went through a long and rigorous process to come to the U.S. After responding to a newspaper advertisement placed by LAI, she submitted her application and awaited a series of interviews. She was one of only five students chosen out of approximately 200 Ugandan applicants. The entire experience lasted from December of 2002 until her arrival at OSU in August of 2003.

The tenacity and motivation required to endure such an arduous application procedure comes from Naswali’s grandfather. He was “a truly inspirational” neural surgeon who used his British education to build a practice in Uganda that eventually grew to serve the rest of East Africa. Naswali uses him as a sort of guidepost in her educational and career choices.

Education has always played a large part in Naswali’s life. Uganda’s education system is extremely intense, and she attended an all-female boarding school from age 13 to 18. Ugandan students don’t have much free time, but on Christmas vacations, Naswali enjoyed Bible studies, fellowship, and hanging out with her friends at home.

She studied French in Uganda for a short time, but had to quit in order to focus on her area of concentration. However, when she came to the U.S. and discovered that she could have more than one area of concentration, she jumped at the opportunity and is now pursuing a minor in French. In all, Naswali speaks four languages: English (Uganda’s official language), Lugisu (her mother tongue), Luganda (the common language of Uganda), and French.

In contrast with her Ugandan teachers, Naswali finds OSU professors approachable and encouraging. While the level of difficulty is the same, she finds more support in the American style of teaching.

OSU provides a welcoming atmosphere for international students, explains Naswali, who says most of her social life comes from her involvement with ICSP (International Cultural Service Program). Through ICSP, international students at OSU make presentations in classes, volunteer in the community, and participate in a variety of other service projects in an attempt to raise cultural awareness in and around Corvallis. Naswali welcomes any opportunity to share her culture with others.

“I love speaking to students. When I first came here, I just thought everyone was so helpful to a stranger,” Naswali says, “I just want to give back a little of what I have received.”

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