Out of Commuting to the College: How did I perform academically?"

This is a very difficult memoir for me to write but yet one that I hope it becomes a seminal moment in my life.  I was born in 1980 in the South Sudan, Wangulei Town, Twic East County, Jonglei State in the maternal home and was a survivor of the 1983 North-South Sudan Civil War and of the 1991 Nuerdefection from the mainstream South Sudan liberation organizations (SPLM) ethnic cleansing-genocide in the late 1990s when I was about twelfth (12) years old.   It took many people to support and literally carry me to bring me alive to the hiding places in the villages during those years of tribulations until I was air-lifted in 1999 from Panyagor Town airstrip toLoki town, Kenya where I was paired up with the resettlement agency UNHCR for Kakuma Refuge Camp-Kenya.  I lived in refugee camp without adult leadership until 2001 when the United States State department and Immigrations agencydecided to bring hope to the “Lost Boys of South Sudan” and provide them the opportunity of a lifetime – to have hope through education.  

As a result of this background, I have found that the affects of the trauma remain latent in most people and in some, come out in varied ways.  I have also found that I am driven to make good on that ‘bravery and relentless hope’ provided by the United States State Department and Immigrations to resettle in the New York State as other immigrants, who are living an American Dream: “Pursuit of Happiness, Life and Liberty” as Thomas Jefferson neatly put it, and to also continue with my highereducation as the only way I can translate that ‘promise and bravery hope’ sowed and disseminated in us into helping me and those left behind in the South Sudan and those culturally, socially and medically struggling of Post-trauma depressions in Diaspora.

That last semester of Spring 2010, I was struggling with affects of trauma when I was in the College of Saint Rose-Albany working on my graduate works in Political Science thinking I should become another Political Scientist like a pivotal political scientist Dr. Andrea Rubery in SUNY at Brockport and She is now a chairperson of Political Science Department and she was my neighbor and a personal role modal mentor during both my undergraduate works in the Niagara University-New York Stateand as well as for decision to go for graduate studies in the Political Science in the College of Saint Rose-Albany, New York.  With a sickness I had, I did not finish my Spring Seminar of 2010 and left for medical treatments here in the Rochester Area and unfortunately I did not finish and pinched a Spring semester seminar of 2010. I medically left the College of Saint Rose-Albany in April 2010 and thereafter I later tried  being medically treated to re-apply back to the graduate Political Science program known as ‘resumption of study’ and administration said I should need to apply for different program, but not to the same program to which I did not finish. This was extremely frustrating and disappointing to me since I had earned nine (9) credit-hours in the Fall semester seminar with very outstanding cumulative Grade Points Average (GPA) and only plunged and failed a Spring seminar semester of 2010 due to medical problems, and "plagiarism" on the Book Review writings I had, where my graduate studies' Political Scientist Ryane Strauss probably has had urged me to drop-out immediately. 

I did not have the support systems there in the College of Saint Rose-Albany organized to help me and as a result I made some very poor decisions in the ends by leaving without letting graduate professors know so that I can get an ‘incomplete grades’ due to the medical problems incurred. It was unprecedented and you immensely understand the breadth and depth of sickness when you encountered---you become an ‘unconscious’ and ended up making a deteriorating and a regretful, poor and worse decisions ever. I was connected with social services at home in the St. Joseph Clinics, Rochester, New York with Mike Boucher, the Social worker, (MSW) and psychiatrist to stay for medication until I recovered. These decisions seemed so right to me partly because of my needs to take care of those left behind and partly because of my situation. 

Of course, I finished a Fall Semester 2009 in the College of Saint Rose-Albany, New York in the graduate Political Science Program with marvelous cumulative Grade Points Averages(GPA) above (3.26) points out of (4.0) points. Only that solely Spring semester of 2010 in the College of Saint Rose-Albany, had a poor cumulative letter grades effect of failed zeros (0.0) since I did not finish a graduate seminar. This deteriorating health was a force behind my decision to leave without telling graduate Professors so that they could have given me ‘incomplete grades’ for the spring 2010 courses. I have medically fixed this and it must not happen again to disrespect professors as I did in that spring 2010 to leave without their knowing per academic decorum and etiquette.

Since I was not going back to the College of Saint Rose-Albany, New York to the same graduate Program of Political Science, but was directed and advised to go for different programs in the Fall 2010, I later decided to leave for South Sudan instead of re-applying back to the College of Saint Rose-Albany after receiving poor grades and a administrations message to re-apply to the different graduate programs. I flew for South Sudan that year of 2010 to visit my relative: Biological father, Wuor Deng Joak and the family by and at large to which I had never seen for number of those two decade years away from home. I spent a minimum of two years there in South Sudan after decades away from home and I just returned back very recently as in May 2012 leaving family behind in South Sudan and rest of family in Eldoret, Kenya, especially my wife: Debora Akur Deng and a child, Achirin Deng Wuor and half brother, Dengthii Wuor as well. 

I understand greatly how the failure of Public Policy in the 1956-1972 Anya-nya I led and ended with 1972 Addis-Abbas Agreement and in the recent North-South Sudan 1983-2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) Naivasha-Kenya agreements stipulated in the six (6) protocols mandate and in the South Sudan history narrative conspired to create the problem I lived through in South Sudan and continued today to do so inwestern Darfur–the so-called ‘Old Sudan’ and other places around the globalized world.  I can make a difference herebecause I believe this is what God saved me to do.  My passion is real and connected to my desire to see change to earn an advanced degree in Public Administration graduate programs as future endeavor can tell. 

I always wanted to achieve something greater and ‘marketable’and this is what pushed me to apply for graduate programs in the General Public Administration (MPA), Master’s Degree and to write this pivotal and robust personal memoir. I did not want to narrow down my endeavor to specific academic concentrations like Non-profit administrations, MPA degree, or any other Master’s of degree in Public Administrations concentration hub. 

Achieving something greater is mandatory now a day since it is so hard and bulk to find decent high paying job, where you would be able to make livings as other ‘middle class’ elevation according to social stratification schemes in the societal ladder since it has been a focal points for today presidential campaigns in eliminating poverty, but living a successful lives. It is not only a driving force behind my decisions to apply for Master’s degree in the Public Administrations, however I frequently wanted to teach and initially impacted my life and other people’s lives as a ‘gift back’ to the society to which we are living(s). 

That is so much about academics; however I did not narrate what my experiences in those years during the 1983 civil war and the 1991 Nuer defection ethnic cleansing in those three stronghold counties: Duk County, Twic East County and Bor South County. It was devastating as it transcended to the South Sudan history narrative to today post-South Sudan civil war. 

My experiences in the South Sudan before I came to America in April 3rd, 2001, was so bulky and harsh since we lived by one meal per a day and it was after every thirty-day when UNHCR organizations distribute rations to over thirty millions people in Kakuma Refugee camp. As we received rations from UNHCR distribution centers, we always tried to be frugal and economical as we can to cover thirty-days of food security distributions. Running water and living shelters were also provided by the UNHCR organizations for those years since 1999 the year of my arrival to the Loki town, Kenya as well to the Kakuma Refugee Camp. Rest of other South Sudanese refugees sought refuge in almost different time since the civil war erupted in the 1983 and 1956. 

Basic educations was provided through UNHCR led supports and almost everyone earned basic education there, before they got either educational sponsorships or scholarships for higher educations in the down Kenya and as well as to Australia, Canada and to the United States of America to make uses of that ‘bravery hope’ sowed and disseminated in us.