University of Nebraska - Lincoln, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), hosted an Egyptian cohort who studied at UNL this semester to further their education and explore a new country and culture.
The Egyptian students took classes at UNL and studied their disciplines from back home with a different perspective — while also creating friends and enjoying American campus life along the way.
Nourhan Abdellatif, a student majoring in Electronics in Egypt and researching Network Configuration here at UNL, said the experience at UNL was “eye opening.”
“It has made me adapt to different cultures and environments, and it has given me the opportunity to be more open and explore different perspectives and grow both academically and personally,” Abedellatif said.
Abedellatif said that the biggest adjustment was managing academic workload and making time to create new experiences in the U.S.
“I didn’t want to get caught up with academia and not the social part of the experience,” Abdellatif said. “I worked on managing my time between going to classes, participating in research, and being more socially engaged.”
Mai Sayed shared the same sentiment towards prioritizing the different academic structure, but also enjoying her experience.
“One of the challenges was setting priorities, because we’re only here for a short time and there is so much to do here,” she said.
Mohamed Hussein, a senior Advertising and Public Relations student, said he adjusted well to campus life and engaged in many social activities.
"I started to engage in activities and I found it much easier,” Hussein said. “Attending American football matches every Saturday — the ones that were here at home, I went to.”
Along with attending Husker football games, Hussein also said he had a great UNL support system.
“A lot of valuable moments here … but one of the most unforgettable things that I have here, I will not forget ever — was when they made a birthday party surprise for me, that was one of my best moments ever… in my whole life,” Hussein said.
Mohammed Yousry, a senior majoring in Biotechnology, said that when he was feeling homesick, the friends he created helped get him out of his comfort zone.
“Everyone made me feel welcome and supported. Especially when I missed home, joining social and cultural events helped me to meet people and feel part of the community,” he said.
Yousry also said he was able to see different perspectives, and learn a new way of life in his experience.
“At first it was difficult to adjust to a new culture and the way of life here, but I found that people here are very welcoming and open which has made it easy for me to live here,” he said.
While here for the semester, Yousry got to visit New York — which he had “only heard about in books and movies.”
“Another unforgettable experience was when I traveled to New York and saw the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, and iconic places with the tallest buildings in the world,” he said. “That was shocking and amazing to be able to explore iconic places while also seeing new ways of life on top of it.”
Sayed spoke about making many friends along the way, as well.
“I was expecting when I came here, to make American friends, but I also ended up making friends from different countries and cultures.”
When looking back at his experience at UNL this semester, Hussein said he will “miss everything.”
“I will miss the food here, Chick-fil-A, I will miss my classmates, instructors, ISSO staff, the weather, and the Saturday matches.”
Yousry said he will miss the community and campus life most.
“What I will miss most are the people I met here, the friends I met here have been so supportive and they have made my experience unforgettable. I also miss campus life,” he said. “There are so many fun events and as a community, they are very welcome and they mix so many cultures — so the chance to learn from people from all over the world has been incredible. This has made my time very special.”
Abdellatif said she learned that there are not as many differences between people as she originally thought, saying, “I learned that we are all the same at the end of the day.”
On his overall experience this semester, Yousry had this to say…
“UNL is incredible.”