Misongi College Access Program, Cameroon
I worked at the Misongi Scholar Program this summer, a college access program that brings together high-achieving Cameroonian students to learn and make an impact in their community while preparing them for college application. Misongi College Access Program creates a special program that helps young promising Cameroonians get access into the best universities in the world. The main aim of Misongi is to help their scholars develop leadership skills.
My internship started out remotely during which I helped create the GCE 2020 GOAL Facebook Page. The GCE (General Certificate of Education) is a required national exam taken by Grade 12 students in Cameroon, and we developed a Facebook page catered to the academic needs of the national examination candidates during the confinement period until the start of the exam period. We recorded and edited videos explaining questions and subjects offered at the GCE Exam using editing software and apps, from complex one like Premiere Pro 2019 to simpler Android apps like Inshot. We had weekly Zoom meetings to monitor the growth of the page and discussed ways to improve it. The scholars participated in the creation of the content on subjects like mathematics, physics, and chemistry and our page has been viewed more than 500 times and is followed by more than 100 students.
Later my internship transitioned from remote to hands-on tutoring and mentoring. I drafted and led workshops on college access, college life and essay writing. I also taught SAT math classes in a successful hybrid format of both lecture and discussion class that I thoroughly enjoyed. In addition, we organized extra activities like hiking to bond with everybody.
Working at Misongi has been a profoundly rewarding experience in terms of human encounters and professional development. I have always considered professions that required project management and teaching, because I tend to learn more organically in these modes of work. This internship confirmed my initial inclination towards teaching and introduced new ones like research, videography, and filmmaking. As an aspiring double major in physics and Japanese, I can only imagine the range of professional opportunities from becoming a professor of Japanese or physics to clinical research to filmmaking (though I may keep this as a hobby with my YouTube Channel, rositabatoum). I can see myself in all these professions!
I want to thank the Class of 1974 and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration for giving me the opportunity to work this summer amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and explore my professional options. I am extremely grateful because this summer’s professional experience will definitely inform my career in the future.