Arinze Chukwunonso Bennard Alva鈥斺�渃all me Chukky鈥濃�攕miles broadly when asked his impressions of South Texas. After all, the 17-year-old native of Nigeria has been a Texan for the past year-and-a-half, since relocating here to accept a scholarship and work toward his dream.
Alva hopes to earn an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, as well as master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees, before returning to Lagos.
For a teenager who had never been away from family or out of his hometown, the journey halfway across the globe was the trip—and opportunity—of a lifetime.
鈥淏efore coming here, I never could have imagined that the things I was reading about in textbooks I would be able to actually see with my own eyes. It has been amazing,鈥� he said.
Through a first-time UTSA donor鈥檚 collaboration and the Alumni Association鈥檚 endowment surpassing $1 million, a match was created that essentially doubled Alva鈥檚 scholarship. This academic year, some $120,000 in scholarships was distributed; nearly $50,000 more than the previous year, said Jim Mickey, associate vice president for alumni programs and marketing.
While still lonely and missing his parents and three younger siblings, Alva is wide-eyed when talking about things that most of us take for granted—electricity at the flip of a switch and modern highways.
鈥淵ou get used to the idea that the electricity is always there, 24/7,鈥� he said, contrasting the situation in his homeland, where service can be spotty and power outages frequent.
鈥淚 can still not imagine how big Texas is,鈥� he said. 鈥淕etting around the state is quite a challenge鈥�—especially when he doesn't have access to a car.
The easy-going, constantly smiling young man may give the appearance of a happy-go-lucky teen, but he is driven to make good on what he acknowledges is 鈥渁n opportunity that very few people in my country will ever have.鈥�
Alva speaks purposefully about the career path he has chosen for himself: 鈥淢y motivation is to be the best, because that is how I will make a positive impact on my society. My country is suffering from poverty and political and social unrest, and what you hear mostly is: 鈥楢ll will be well.鈥�
鈥淏ut we can no longer afford to sit back and wait. If I am to do something about it, I will have to do something to improve the situation in my homeland, because my country really needs to change and I hope to be part of that change. If I don鈥檛 succeed, here at the university or in what I want to do afterward, it will be to the detriment of the next generation. I won鈥檛 be a part of letting down the youth in my country.鈥�
It is heady stuff for a homesick teenager who has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA while working as a research assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering鈥檚 Computational Reliability and Visualization Lab.
Alva is as comfortable talking about applied physics as he is about research into experimental nano reactors.
He chose UTSA after applying to 16 U.S. universities and being admitted to four 鈥渂ecause coming here granted me the opportunity to fulfill my lifelong dream. The day I received my admissions letter was one of the happiest moments of my life.鈥�
W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co. and the Alumni Association teamed up for the $2,500 per year scholarship. Separately, Alva also received the Honors College鈥� Presidential Honors Scholarship.
鈥淥ur intent is to create a relationship between the student and the donor,鈥� and in that way also create a connection between the student and the Alumni Association, said Mickey, who introduced Alva to the construction firm鈥檚 leaders at an off-campus dinner.
Plans call for continuing significant increases in the alumni endowment fund, which will mean more scholarships being issued to more students like Alva, Mickey said.
Some $150,000 in scholarships will be distributed next academic year, more than doubling the $72,000 awarded in each of the 2009 and 2010 academic years, he added.
Since 1982, when the association awarded its first $250 scholarship, about $985,000 in scholarships has been awarded.
Alva, who notes that 鈥渉ere, professors like it when you ask a lot of questions and they encourage your curiosity,鈥� wants to pattern his life after a comment attributed to Albert Einstein: 鈥淭ry not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value.鈥�
鈥擥uillermo Garcia
