Nov 17, 2021
Last week’s episode was about giving a holistic experience on what it takes to be a successful international student in the US and diaspora as a whole. In this episode, we dive deeper into resources that are available to prospective students in Africa to use if planning to apply to schools in the US. Our guest Richard Ewane, founder of The Student Advisor, explains the entire process of applying to college as an international student successfully with an emphasis on making it through the complex process of the F-1 visa interview at the US Embassy. If you are a student or parent of a prospective student who is confused and/or overwhelmed by the complex process of applying to college in the diaspora, then this episode is for you.
Meet Our Guest
Born in Cameroon, Richard Ewane attended primary school in Yaoundé and secondary school at Sacred Heart College Mankon, Bamenda. He then went to college in America, studying International Business and Economics at Ohio Northern University (ONU). Upon graduation, Mr. Ewane was hired by his alma mater, ONU, as an Admissions Counselor. After working at ONU, Mr. Ewane decided to return to Cameroon.
He worked at the S. T. Muna Foundation for a few years and then he was recruited by the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé as the EducationUSA Advisor, working with prospective students, their families, and other stakeholders to gain admission to U.S. institutions. During his tenure at the U.S. Embassy, Mr. Ewane recorded a seventeen percent (17%) increase in the number of successful applications from the country, the largest increase in over a decade!
Driven by his desire to improve the lives of his fellow Cameroonian youth, Richard left his position at the US Embassy and went to work as the Chief of Staff to the international lawyer and anti-corruption champion, Akere "Mr. Clean'' Muna, a candidate in Cameroon’s 2018 presidential election. Simultaneously, he launched The Student Advisor to continue the work he has been doing for a decade – effecting change by providing educational opportunities to Cameroonians.
Today, he continues to work with the then-presidential candidate on matters of good governance and anti-corruption across the globe, as well as run The Student Advisor. All with the goal of bringing positive change to his community.
Contact Richard:
Website: www.thestudentadvisor.com
Phone [whatsapp]: +1 614 697 4455
Phone: +237 680 230 570
Social media platforms: The Student Advisor
Things you will learn in this episode:
[00:01 – 07:54] Introduction
- Introducing the guests
- The guest summarize his journey
[07:54 – 20:05] Coming to America to Study
- The application process
- Arriving in America
- Culture shock experiences
- Richard's first experience with American students
- Adapting to the America system
[20:05 – 23:00] Working in America after Graduation
- Working as an Admissions Counselor
- Setting up orientation for foreign students
[23:00 – 30:00] Coming back to Cameroon
- Finding a job
- I regretted my decision when things got difficult
- Working in an orphanage & starting a record label
- Working at the United States Embassy
[54:35 – 46:26] How The Student Advisor helps Students
- Guiding students through the entire F-1 visa application process
- Advising students on how to select schools
- Launching a bootcamp to help students
- How The Student Advisor was started
- The abundant scholarships available
[46:36 – 48:04] Get in Touch with The Student Advisor
- Contact us through our website
- Getting in touch through Whatsapp & Social Media
[48:04 – 55:13] Lessons & Final Words
- Two important things to note
- Anyoh's final words
Tweetable Quotes:
“After doing this several times, I can today look at a kid’s document and ask them how the interview went and know exactly what happened. So what we do is consulting for students who have been denied visas or about to go for an interview and steer them in the right direction.” - Richard Ewane [Founder, The Student Advisor]
“A lot of students will stand in their own way. This is because they work with- and receive advice from people who have no idea what they are talking about.” - Richard Ewane [Founder, The Student Advisor]
“There could be way more [international students studying in America]. We have so many more qualified students who just fall through the cracks because they don’t have information. When I started working at the US Embassy, I did a full media bliss and we ended up having a 17% increase in the number of Cameroonian students studying in the US.” - Richard Ewane [Founder, The Student Advisor]
“Disseminating correct information is really important for our students because they don’t know. You have all these kids who got 5As in Advanced Level, they should be going to MIT and Stanford and Berkeley, but they don’t know they can. And even when they've seen other people do it, they don’t know how to go about it.” - Richard Ewane [Founder, The Student Advisor]
“Life would have been way easier and better if I had this kind of opportunity [with The Student Advisor] prior to coming to the United States as an international student. It is really amazing how much we just try to figure it out by ourselves because we don’t have any guidance.” - Anyoh Fombad
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