VOA标准英语2010年-America's Global College Forum（在线收听）

"Having all kinds of people in class, I am learning from people with different experiences," Steve said.

No matter where Steve Maina Muchiri has gone to study, he finds his way right back to the university he calls home, Eastern Kentucky University.  "I'm at Eastern Kentucky University.  It's like 23 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky.  It's really, really awesome," he says.

"I got my bachelor's degree.  I mean I have been here for seven years you know and I have been to the University of Texas at Arlington.  I went there for one year for my master's degree.  It's kind of a huge population and I didn't like it that much and then I transferred back to Eastern Kentucky.  I think because of being at Eastern Kentucky for a long time it feels like a home away from home."

Already Steve has an undergraduate degree from the university.  Now as he works on his graduate degree, he says there is a different level of understanding and learning once you choose to seek a higher education.  "I'm doing my master's of business administration and I initially did economics, international economics for my undergraduate with a minor in business administration and it's really, really awesome.  I like it so far," he says.

"Things have changed a lot you know undergraduate is more like you are just brushing up then when you get to graduate school you do a lot of research, you get to understand things at a deeper level.  I've also worked with other departments at school like the diversity department, and the athletic department its like I am getting that experience," he says.

"I really love it. It's a good place to go!

Steve says his opportunity to study in the United States is a dream come true especially since getting into one of the universities back home can be challenging.  "Well, I'm from Kenya, a town called Mombosa it's close to the India ocean and why did I decide to come to the United States? I got a scholarship in track and field and that was like a dream come true given that we have a couple of public universities and it's really hard to get into one of them and once you get into one of them you don't actually do what you want to do or what you want to become in the future, but when I got this scholarship this was like an open door for me."

Over the last several years Steve says adjusting to the culture has left a lasting impression.  "I was a village boy so to say and when I got here to the United States things look sort of different because back home when you hear of any American university you think of them being the same.  All of them being like Harvard and all those big schools you don't know the difference," he says.

"I went to one of the universities in Kenya for one semester and then when I got here things were really different like the class setting, the professors how they portray themselves, how they dress, how the students dress and the car they drive.   I mean I couldn't belive they were driving very huge cars given that back home we don't have a situation like that unless you come from a very wealthy family, but overall I like the whole university.  Having all kind of people in class I am learning from people with different experiences, having a room mate you never spent time with you know that has a different background you know it was a culture shock, but it took me like one year to adjust to the whole thing including the food."
  
May 2010 is when Steve will complete his studies.  Getting into a doctorate program is one of his goals then..."I have a feeling of helping needy people you know given that my country is one of the sub-sahara countries and that feeling of wanting to help other people kind of drove me into it," he says.

"My aim is to get into a doctorate program into economics and probably help a lot of people in Africa or in any country. That would be my dream job.