Bernardita Agyekum
undergraduate government and public policy student
Hometown: Malmö, Sweden
High School: Klara Nya Gymnasium
Transfer from: Bunker Hill Community College
I am a risk-taker.
I am bold.
I am adventurous.
I am a spiritual person, and I am very active in my church. I speak several languages, and I am very passionate about law. I took a criminal law class when I was living in Boston. During that time, I was not sure what I wanted to do, but once I took that class my interest grew. Learning about tort law and criminal law in America was fascinating! Organizing mock trials was also intriguing. I could see myself doing this in the future.
It is truly by the grace of God that I am still standing and doing well in school.
Coming from Sweden, it was difficult to adapt to the American culture. I had to get used to a lot of things, including American food and the way people dressed. I felt that I was unable to articulate myself the way that I wanted. I had to learn how to warm up to people. Americans are very open, so I had to learn how to be more open so people wouldn’t think that I was uppity. I also had to adapt to life at University of Baltimore. In Sweden, students are allowed to take six to eight classes and everything is in Swedish, but at University of Baltimore, students can only take five to six classes and everything is in English. It was challenging, but I was able to adapt.
In order to achieve my goals, I must continue to work hard. I did not move from Sweden to the United States to slack or to party. I came here for a purpose: to learn, work hard, do my best, and make my family proud. My roots are in Ghana and at the end of the day, I not only have to make my Ghanaian family proud, but also my Swedish and American families, too. People are depending on me back home, so I truly have to make it. My biggest fear is that I will not make it in life because I have struggled so much. Coming to the United States alone at age 19 was really hard. It is truly by the grace of God that I am still standing and doing well in school. I give all the glory to God.
My advice for my fellow students is don’t give up! Don’t settle for less. We are all here to learn. It doesn’t matter where you come from. Work hard, study hard, and do your best.