My name is Mamadou, I am 19 years old and I have a story. For all my Life, ever since I could remember, I had a goal to become a scientist.  As a child I would be found mixing sugars, soaps, and detergents in a quest to make some indeterminable formula to save the world. It sounds silly, i know, but I really believed that sugar and its sweetness could heal anything and everyone .

My story begins 18 years ago. I was born in the Republic of Mali but my family migrated to the United States when I was 1 years old. Coming here to the United States at a  young age introduced my to the culture, the lifestyle and the vitality of America.  I grew up with the kids, watched Saturday morning cartoons and loved to eat McDonalds. But my favorite was going to school. School was my specialty and there was the place I shined. Only in America could I have been an honor roll student and only America could I have traveled to Washington DC to the Lead America leadership conference. America is the best country for Educational liberty and I was completely immersed in this freedom. I grew up as an American, I went to school  as an American and ,in essence, I am American – but it ends there.  You see , I am not a citizen nor am I  green card holder.  I did not ask to come here, yet ten out of ten times I do not regret being here nor can is say I anything to tarnish this beautiful country.

Right now I am disabled from continuing college  because I am unable to receive the scholarship I was rewarded because I cannot receive federal aid. I want to go to school.  I want to learn and its unbelievable to think my journey ends now because I would not like to give up easy.

Even though the United States government does not recognize me as a student, I believe that education should not be a condition; it is a human right. I want to learn. I know that I cannot receive any kind of federal aid for school, but my objective is not entirely for the sake of receiving money. I want people to know that there are many people in similar situations.  These people don’t have the money in the bank to pay for school even though America is the only country they know. They dream for great professions. They envision themselves as doctors, engineers,scientists, government officials, teachers, great leaders and more importantly great Americans.  I think nobody deserves it better than they do.

I am blessed to to have experienced college.  I went to college on a scholarship that entirely paid for my tuition and that’s all I really needed. I met a faculty member at the university while i was in high school and god bless this man. He gave me a scholarship in his biotechnology program and I promptly backed my bags and ventured to school. I wanted to learn so this man gave me the opportunity of becoming the great scientist I envisioned as a kid.