Gamecock of the Week

While studying abroad in Tanzania, Amanda Tatum, a fourth-year international studies student, learned Swahili. 

Tatum was able to travel to Tanzania because she was named a Boren scholar, a highly competitive scholarship that allows students to learn more about other countries and languages that are critical to U.S. national security. Tatum, who always wanted to visit Africa, said receiving the scholarship was perfect.

“I applied, and the choice of Tanzania fell into my hands,” Tatum said. “It couldn’t have been a better match. Tanzania is where they speak ‘true’ Swahili, although folks from Zanzibar and Kenya will argue this point. I went with the Knowledge Exchange Institute (KEI), and they were helpful in finding me a fantastic homestay and being flexible with me in the tumultuous changes that occurred while I was abroad.”

Tatum said KEI has many programs abroad, but she was the first student to go to Tanzania.

Lauren Flinn, a public relations intern in the Study Abroad Office, said these scholarships provide up to $20,000 to undergraduate students studying abroad for a full academic year, a semester or a summer.

 “Boren Scholars represent a variety of academic backgrounds, but all are interested in studying less commonly taught languages including Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Russian,” Flinn said.   “Swahili was recently added to the list, so Amanda’s interest in studying the language also made her stand out.”

Tatum said she enrolled as a student at the University of Dar es Salaam in fall of 2008.

Her classes were African Drumming, African Women Writers Population, Environment and Development and Intermediate Swahili.

“I found a Swahili language institute that agreed to provide me with a teacher and a transcript and that was approved by everyone in the U.S.,” Tatum said.

She learned a lot about native Tanzanian students during her time in the country. When the Tanzanian government would no longer pay for all students eligible to attend college based on test grades, the students campaigned the campus with fliers, speeches and parades.

“After figuring out how things worked, the Tanzanian students decided to stand up for what they believed to be their rights as Tanzanians and students — for their government to continue paying university tuition,” Tatum said.

Tatum said she learned about Tanzanian culture from her host family, a hired house girl and participation at a local woodcarving market.
She returned her gratitude to them by helping others.

"I volunteered with a nonprofit organization, Tanzania Education Alternatives for Children (TEACH), and worked on the public relations sector,” Tatum said. “I started a Web site for them, put together a few promotional newsletters to report their progress as an organization and helped generate ideas for sustainability of their program.”

During her time in Tanzania, she had more than four months to travel and backpack. Tatum spent the rest of her ‘vacation’ backpacking to various countries with two other students by bus, train and pickup truck.