ABSTRACT
Couched around the higher education mantra of teaching, research, and service, the author combines elements of a descriptive autobiography with a conceptual framework inspired by intersectionality analysis to provide an account of her experiences as an African who migrated of her own volition from Nigeria to study and live in the United States. The chapter covers the transition from international student to resident alien to US citizen. A unique perspective offered in the chapter is that of an instructor and researcher of a subject matter and world region that is hardly studied and largely unknown to the American populace. In and outside the classroom of a predominantly white small college town, topics on inequalities and social justice evoke difficult experiences of discomfort and alienation. Time-intensive service tasks like informal mentoring hardly count in academic career advancement considerations. In the absence of standard support groups typical of large cities with sizable African populations, strategic actions such as creating coalitions and collaborations in and outside the institution are necessary for overcoming many undeniable challenges facing Africans in the contemporary US academy. These include building solidarity among other Africans, other non-US nationals and African Americans. Collaborative research and community advocacy pursuits that enable these constructive alliances are presented.
