David Enow '17 Recruiting Profile

In life I have many academic interests and professional goals. One of the main reasons that I want an education in the United States is because I believe it will help me achieve my goals. My most serious interest is language. I plan to study languages in school. I admire people who speak many languages. I want to speak many languages, too. My first language is English. I also speak French and Pigeon English, which is our own dialogue of English language in Cameroon. In the near future, I want to learn to speak Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Italian. I think that my determination, my ability to learn things quickly, and my ability to speak more than one language currently will help me achieve this goal. I was 12-years-old when I first learned French. I was staying with my uncle in Douala, a city in Cameroon where they speak French, and within two months I was able to communicate in French. If I can succeed to learn more languages, I would like to someday become a language teacher. I would like to make a career out of teaching languages. I think that I could be a teacher because I have experience working as a tutor at my secondary school in Cameroon. I was an “education prefect” in my school. My responsibility was to teach younger students who had difficulties in their studies. I tutored students in subjects such as biology, chemistry, physics, economics, mathematics, history, and geography. What I really like about teaching is the fact that I get to interact with people. Through this, I learn a lot from other people, too. I also want to become a language teacher so I can spread the joy of learning a foreign language to many people around me.

I have other interests in school apart from language. Some of my interests include biology and chemistry. I like biology because I love studying about living organisms. I especially like chemistry because I love experimenting to come out with results. In addition to becoming a language teacher I have other career goals because of my interests in science. I am interested in becoming a civil engineer. I really admire engineers because they are intelligent and educated. My mom has always wanted me to become a civil engineer. Becoming a civil engineer would not only make me happy, but also my mom. Lastly, I am also interested in economics. I would love to own or manage a large international business. I would especially like to open a large international business between the United States and Cameroon.

I have attended two schools, which are St. Paul’s Anglican and G.S.S. (Government Secondary School) Nkamlikum Kumba. There are many things that hinder education in Cameroon. One is the lack of teaching materials and modern means used for experimenting, field work, and practicals. The most serious problem is that of bribery and corruption. Often in Cameroon, a parent may give a teacher a bribe just to make the child pass. For example, one day when I was still in my early years in secondary school, a parent whose child was my classmate came to school and met our teacher. The parent gave the teacher a bribe so that the student would be promoted to the next level. We all knew that with the results of our classmate that he could not go to the next class, but since his parent bribed the teacher, he was promoted. Also, a parent can even bribe a teacher to make another parent’s child fail.

However, despite the above mentioned, I still have had some good moments in school here in Cameroon. One of these moments was the day I was called up for the first time since I entered secondary school in front of the whole school as one of those who have topped their class. I was so very happy. I really lack the words to tell how happy I was that day. This moment will stay in my mind forever. But for every good moment, there are indeed bad moments. The next year I finished second in my class behind my biggest rival. She had just a few points more than me. I really don’t like to remember that moment. But nevertheless, it only helped me to work harder. I really wanted to regain my top position in the class. It wasn’t easy, but I studied very hard and finally I regained my top position in the class the next year. I have learned a lot because of this experience and other struggles that I have faced both in school and in life outside of school. One of my weaknesses is that I get discouraged easily. I almost lose hope when things are not going my way. But I have learned that I can overcome these struggles through hard work, perseverance, determination, and ambition. I have learned that if I study hard, I can accomplish my goals. I have also learned that to get something great, you must work hard at everything you do.

I really want an education in the United States. I think that because of my ambition and work ethic, I can succeed. I also hope to use an education in the United States to improve on my weaknesses. I would also use the opportunity of an education in the United States to get involved in many extracurricular activities and clubs at school. At my secondary school in Cameroon, I was involved in many clubs. I was President of both the Sanitation Club for three years and the CFDP (Cameroon Football Development Program) Club for two years. I was also a member of the Prefects Club for a year. I was voted as a prefect by the entire school body. As I mentioned earlier, as a prefect I helped tutor other students in subjects where they had difficulties. Outside of school, I am involved in the Olympic Fruiting Sports Academy, which is a soccer club for young boys located in Kumba Town. I am involved in all these clubs because I love working as a team. I will also get involved in extracurricular activities at school in the United States. I especially want to play soccer. I love soccer. I love learning how to play the game better. Lastly, I will use the opportunity of an education in the United States to share my culture with new friends and to learn from my friends about their cultures. This way, I would learn more about the United States and I would be helping my friends to learn more about Cameroon.
Conclusively, I am eager to get an education in the United States. I am really ambitious and motivated to pursue my career goals. The Cameroon Football Development Program has taught me that if I work hard I will achieve my goals. But studying in Cameroon would not only make it difficult for me to achieve my goals, but almost impossible. I believe that an advanced education in the United States would help me achieve my goals because it is far superior than an education in Cameroon. Even if I did get an education in Cameroon, I would struggle to find a job. And even if I found a good job for me, I would be forced to give out bribes in order to get the job. If I get an education in the United States, maybe I can use it to help me open an international business between Cameroon and the United States. I want to help workers in the United States learn more about Cameroon and workers in Cameroon learn more about the United States. If I get an advanced education in the United States, I would use it to help better develop Cameroon. Overall, I would try as much as I can to make the relationship between the United States and Cameroon stronger. As you can see, I am really motivated and I want to contribute to my school in the United States in as many ways as possible to make it a better place. I am just searching for the opportunity.