Joseph Kaifala '08

I just completed my JD and Certificate in International Law at Vermont Law School. I spent my Optional Practical Training year as an American Society of International Law Helton Fellow working for the Sierra Leone Memory Project to conduct historical documentation of the Sierra Leonean civil war.

After RCNUWC I could have followed my friends to the other U.S. Colleges already full of UWC students, but I chose a road less travelled and became one of the first UWC students at Skidmore. I remain grateful for that decision and the wonderful opportuni- ties Skidmore College provided. Skidmore granted me the opportunity to engage in serious academic work with guidance from devoted faculty and staff, which prepared me for the rigor of a legal career. I also met friends who have become family to me. Skidmore provided the initial tools for the founding of my nonprofit, Jeneba Project Inc, and some of my biggest donors are still Skidmore faculty and staff members.

The Davis scholarship, in addition to that provided by Skidmore, granted me an opportunity to become a civic leader and a humanitarian. I have always considered the Davis scholarship an investment in my potential, and it has become my duty to produce some dividends for society. I believe that educating the young is the best investment in the future of the world, but most especially in the future of Africa. The work of the Jeneba Project is centered on education as the engine of personal and community development. The Davis scholarship gave me the opportunity to pursue this path.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity you have granted me. Nelson Mandela said "what limits Africa is not a lack of potential, but the absence of opportunities." I ascribe to this view, and I believe that what you did for me was to offer me the opportunity to solidify my potential in the leadership and service of my people. As a child who grew up in two civil wars and a refugee camp, my life was consumed by tragedy and all the consequences of war and poverty, but you gave me the opportunity to transform the dreams of a fat-belly-large-head kid into reality, and by so doing, you set in mo- tion the full realization of my potential and the chance to contribute toward making the world a better place. Most revolutions come with fanfare, but yours has been a quiet revolution with the greatest ripple producing a ferment of change in the most obscure corners of the world. Throughout the world, your graduates stand tall and committed to offering returns on your investment in their individual communi- ties at home. Congratulations on this honor and welcome to the Skidmore family.

Thank you!