Munashe Matikiti's experience
in the United States at
Mohawk Valley Community College
Why Did I decide to Study in the USA?
What made me come to the United States was the big prospect of playing college soccer, I had always found the idea quite amazing so in my mind, I had one thought process only which was I had to live my dream. Of course, the academic factor was included in this too, I wanted to better myself both academically and in soccer.
What Have I Done Since Being in the USA?
I have been at Mohawk Valley CC for 3 semesters now, adjusting to the different cultures
and minority groups took me some time as a couple of these things are not practiced
in my home country. I have come to meet different people and without a doubt, I would
probably say that the countryside people from Upstate New York are very entertaining.
I have been to a couple of places within the state but the places that stood out the
most for me include Niagara Falls, Old Forge, New York City, and Lake Placid.
I am more of a video person; I realized this as I was looking for pictures to upload
here. I enjoy activities that require me to sweat a lot for some reason and best believe
New York State has many of those to offer. Hiking last summer was phenomenal, a couple
of my friends and I went to Whiteface Mountain down in Wilmington. Travel has always
been something I have enjoyed and so I will have more places to visit.
How have I found MVCC?
The school has been very welcoming, I have met different people from around the world, people from Spain, France, Angola, Senegal, Gambia, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Italy, Japan, Thailand, Guinea, Sudan, Egypt, the list goes on and on but as you could tell the school is open to every nationality and doesn’t treat us any differently to the local students. The professors are willing to help at any time of the day especially my calculus professor for business management. There are places on campus that help students get accustomed to the American educational system such as the learning commons which offer tutoring services that do help, we have the library in Payne Hall, which is so beautiful during fall and winter, a nice quiet corner to get your work done would suffice and help relax your mind. I love going to the gym and with the flexible hours of the gym, I can go from 6 pm to 8 pm and get a go workout after a day of classes and meeting up with friends. I got a job as a Residential Assistant for the dorms (I live on campus) and that has been very helpful as I get to socialize with a lot more people on campus and get leadership training at the same time. I am a part of the Student Leadership Academy as well this is a program put in place at the college to help students become future leaders and gain knowledge on how to be effective leaders as well as a good leader. There are several activities offered by the school that students can partake in, for my 2022 spring semester the international students were taken on a snow tubing trip which turned out to be a good day. Trips to the Utica Zoo have been done, the program board organized a trip to Six Flags Great Escape.
MVCC has been a great first step toward my future goals, every person at MVCC has made it memorable and quite enjoyable to be here.
