By Paula Limba

Hello SMCC students! I hope you’re all doing well and that everybody has had a

wonderfully invigorating good start to the academic 2015-2016 year. My name is Paula Limba.

I’m from the Democratic Republic of Congo and I’m a second year student here at SMCC. I’m

an undergraduate student concentrating in Liberal Studies with the ambitions to be a Registered

Nurse. I also have a dream of working with the international health organization, “Doctors

Without Borders.” That’s everything about my future plans, but let’s get back to the main point.

This semester I was invited to join The Beacon, our school newspaper, as a contributing

writer interviewing students from countries far and wide who have landed at SMCC. I find it

amazing that when I walk into the Learning Commons there are students who are from countries

on the other side of the horizon.

This column’s purpose is to share the stories of some of these students who have traveled

great distances to start, or continue their education here at SMCC. Take a look around yourself

and you’ll probably see students from Africa, Europe and Asia. Maybe you’re a bit shy to talk to

them, which is kind of a shame, considering the wealth of knowledge you might find from them,

including where they are from. Maybe they have opinions and insights into SMCC that you

share, or haven’t even thought about. The wealth of personal stories is incredibly diverse and I

look forward to sharing this with you.

If you know of anybody who has an interesting story to share send suggestions to

paulalimba@smccme.edu