SOUTHKINGSTOWN – University of Rhode Island student, Momodou Mbye, discusses his life growing up in his family’s native country of Gambia, Africa.

            Mbye, a sophomore mechanical engineering major at the University, was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the age of three, Mbye’s parents moved their family back to their native country of Gambia, where he spent the next five years of his life growing up.

            Mbye’s parents, both born and raised in Gambia, thought it would be beneficial to his sister and himself if they got the same experiences that they both did as children. Besides wanting them to grow up around all of their family, they wanted their kids to experience the land and the culture that living in Africa would offer them.  

            “They really wanted us to go back and learn the language and get to know the land,” said Mbye.

            Getting to learn the language they spoke there and being able to spend days with his cousins and entire family was important to his parents. Remembering his time there, he talked about the extreme differences in appearances in the land.                                  Describing the area as very open with almost no buildings, he explained that the area was almost like a beach and always very hot. His days were always spent outside playing with friends and getting to know the land, no matter how hot or rainy the day turned out to be.

            “Being here [in the U.S], when its cold outside, no one wants to go outside. I remember the first time I saw snow, that was crazy to me,” he said.

              Talking about school, Mbye discussed the severe contrasts in the system over there, verses here. Consequences were dealt out on the daily, even if what you did was an accident.

            “Being in school was strict down there, honestly I did not like it,” said Mbye.

             “I remember one time, they hit me with a hose about three times, because someone tripped over me on accident,” he said.

              Although extremely strict, Mbye thinks that if it weren’t for the lessons he learned as a child, he would have turned out to be a totally different person. Feeling that being in school there taught him right from wrong, and also that it caused him to be more disciplined.  

             “I feel like being there helped me a lot, there’s a lot of people that do dumb things you could say, and I feel like now I’m smart enough to know what I should and shouldn’t do,” he said.

              Mbye, also a starting player on the University’s football team, credits his drive and determination to the game to the lessons he learned while growing up there.

            “I feel like I can be a lot smarter on the field from it, I know to trust the coaches and the way they work things,” said Mbye.

             After college, Mbye is hoping to pursue a career in mechanical engineering. He is grateful for the experiences that he went through during his time in Africa, and appreciates the person they shaped him into today.