Being away from home can be daunting on some, if not all of us. It gets worse when we are unable to find a community into which we can fit and be accepted into. West Texas A&M University, as diverse as it is, has the African Students Organization, (ASO) serving as “home” for its students from the prestigious African continent. The president of ASO is Victory Suobite. She is a senior psychology major, who is also minoring in Business Management. Born into a Christian home with five siblings, Suobite grew up in Port-Harcourt, located in the southern part of Nigeria. She moved to the United States in 2014.

While transferring to WTAMU in the spring of 2019, Suobite looked into all of the organizations that existed on campus and found a contact for the ASO. This got her more excited about her transfer. To her dismay, the organization was basically non-existent. Not being an outgoing person, she spent almost the entire spring by herself, until finals week.

“During finals week in spring of 2019, I met an African on campus- not just an African, but another Nigerian. I got to know other Nigerians on campus and most of the Africans that attended WT,” Suobite said. “In the spring of 2020, one of my friends was graduating and suggested we revive the organization because we started to have an influx of Africans on campus.”

After finding the friend group, they thought to have a formal representation on campus, which led to an impromptu election, where she was chosen to become the new president of ASO. The organization underwent re-registration with the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership. When asked about how she combines academic work with being president of the organization. Suobite said how she is able to manage school work with running the organization.

“Managing schoolwork and extracurricular activities has definitely been a struggle, I mean sometimes it can get overwhelming, but personally, I’ve always tried to create a balance between them and focus on what’s more important, which is my education.”

In November 2020, the ASO held a successful banquet which served as a medium of introducing Africa’s rich culture to WTAMU through dance, a fashion show and a panel discussion in which the challenges African students faced in the United States were discussed. ASO looks forward to hosting another banquet later in November of the 2021 fall semester, doing more voluntary work and being more involved in the community by helping as much as possible

“ASO is made up of really friendly people who want everyone to advance and reach greater heights and most of the time,” Suobite said. “We have these big thinkers who say a lot of stuff and bring ideas, but also look back out when it’s time for action, which can be frustrating.”

As her last words, Suobite was grateful for her family and friends who have known her capabilities and have pushed her to go for gold. She also encouraged anyone looking up to her to hold onto their dreams and not give up. She also encouraged others not to be afraid of leadership positions, and that it is how she got to be who she is today.

“At ASO, our motto is ‘Unity, Strength, Culture’, so my last words will be for us to continue to foster those attitudes, building strength amongst ourselves by being there for one another and still representing African culture wherever we find ourselves,” Suobite said.