Sophia Wilson, a native of Ghana and second-year WMU grad student, obtained her very English last name from the British colonists who inhabited her father’s homeland in Ghana’s Central Region.

 

Sophia grew up in Accra, the nation’s capital, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2000, with a minor in home sciences. Post-college, she worked for Shell Petroleum as a customer service representative, and married Eugene Vortia in 2002.

 

The couple made their way to Kalamazoo when Eugene, a medical student, was offered a residency in 2003 at the Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies. Eugene moved first, in July, and Sophia was soon to follow in September. “Long distance relationships—I don’t believe in that,” she said.

 

Following the birth of a daughter, Eileen, in July 2004, Sophia decided to pursue a master’s degree in Human Resources Development at WMU. She began taking classes in spring semester 2005 and is on target to complete the two-year degree in spring 2007.

 

“I saw information about the HR development master’s in a WMU brochure,” Sophia said. “When I was working for Shell, I enjoyed customer service, but I was always interested in how HR people do their work and learning more about benefits and how they counsel employees. With my psychology background, I thought HR would be a good thing to do.”

 

Sophia has noted a big difference between teaching and learning in her homeland as compared to the academic experience she’s enjoying at WMU. “Back home, education is more about how much you can memorize,” she said. “Here, the emphasis is more on what you think about the things you are hearing and reading. There is no wrong answer if you can support your point.”

A scholarship awarded to Sophia by the Haenicke Institute for Global Education helped her begin master’s degree studies, but she said finding financial assistance beyond the first year has proven to be quite challenging.

“Obtaining an international education is very beneficial, though the tuition is very expensive,” she said. “International students can no longer easily obtain loans to help fund their educations in the U.S. Many in the past borrowed money and didn’t pay it back, so now most lenders want an American co-signer before you can get a loan. So, you work hard and pay tuition out of your check, or just take one class at a time.”

Eugene recently accepted an internal medicine/pediatrics position at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. The family will remain in Kalamazoo until Sophia completes here degree. She then plans to pursue an HR position with a Grand Rapids-based employer that has an HR department.

“We plan to live in the states 10 to 15 years before we go back home,” she said. “We like it here, but it is very cold in Michigan. Even when the sun is out, it can still be cold. In Ghana, our lowest temperature rarely falls below 70 during the day.”

Sophia accepted a summer internship in claims processing at State Farm Insurance. In the fall, she will continue her work as a research assistant for International Programs at the Haenicke Institute for Global Education.