Hello everyone! Dagmawi Begashaw, or Dagi for short, is a 20 year old student currently in his second semester at Georgia State.  I interviewed Dagi over a phone call and inquired him about his academic traits, experiences, and struggles. 

Dagi spent the majority of his life in Ethiopia, where he lived with his mother. His hobbies included playing soccer and watching it on the TV. Two years ago, Dagi felt that there wasn’t enough opportunity in Ethiopia. One of Dagi’s goals to is live well off, i.e. own an expensive car, a house, etc. However, It was hard to find a job in Ethiopia that would fulfilll his dreams. So, Dagi looked toward getting a Computer Science degree in America, where if he worked hard, he would be able to achieve his goal. 

Dagi started college last semester after he came to America a year and a half ago. He took a gap year to save up some money for college and worked as a restaurant waiter. Dagi began to see the major differences between American social culture and Ethiopian social culture and reevaluated if it was really worth it being here. He felt as people were “dead” here, as there weren’t many people he could just start up a conversation with. Additionally, people weren’t as connected, feeling as if people were “fake”. As a result, Dagi was wary of people and did not really make any friends. Lack of socializing proved itself to be an obstacle to Dagi’s drive to study in America.  Dagi kept his sights on his goal. Overall, he realized to stay focused on his goal, as it would pay off in the end. 

Dagi has had some challenges with the education system here. In Ethiopia, the curriculum was covered at a slower pace. Dagi learned to work things out thoroughly, so as a result, he takes ample time to study the material. Additionally, Dagi did not have additional responsibilities to tend to, so he had more time on his hands. In America, the material is covered at a much faster pace compared to Ethiopia. He expected an English class’s duration to be at least a year. Additionally, he thought that the curriculum would go more in-depth on one thing, and not cover different units. On top of the responsibilities Dagi has, such as maintaining a job, aiding his mother with English documents, as well as taking care of his sister, he has little free time to enjoy the things he loves. 

Whatever obstacle he faces, he does not let it undermine him. After all, he sees the economic opportunity as his ultimate goal and will stay committed. His academic self is someone who persists, no matter what kind of roadblock there is. Before this interview, I had thought my life was harder than everyone else, and that my responsibilities were an excuse for me to do poorly in school. When Dagi revealed that he had obtained a 4 GPA last semester, I began to aspire that I would get his work ethic.