![\"\"](\"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/02\/IMG_6878.jpg\")
<\/a>Stepping outside of his comfort zone tested Odoom. He said it helped him experience life in a new way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a new opportunity and it helped me very, very much,\u201d Odoom said.<\/p>\n
Past obstacles moving to a \u201cforeign\u201d place early in life served as a factor in his decision to come to the US for college.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought to myself, where\u2019s the best place I would feel comfortable with?\u201d Odoom said. \u201cI thought the U.S. It seemed like the land of opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
He highlighted a few opportunities such as experiencing what the US will be like outside of what he sees in movies and television.<\/p>\n
Why Minnesota?<\/p>\n
Odoom said he wanted to stay near his aunt and uncle and his extended family who live in the twin cities and have a safety net if things don\u2019t turn out the way he envisions them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have been able to do it if I didn\u2019t have family in Minnesota. My parents didn\u2019t want me to struggle.\u201d Odoom said.<\/p>\n
Why Winona State University?<\/p>\n
Odoom said that he wanted to find a college that was affordable, dense with diversity and international students to make him feel more accepted and supported in the path he wanted to take in school.<\/p>\n Odoom said he didn\u2019t want to feel like an outcast.<\/p>\n He wanted to become his own person, branch out and discover new things.<\/p>\n \u201cI told myself, let me find the friends who I truly believe are my friends. It doesn\u2019t matter if they\u2019re from the same country as me or if they\u2019re international or not.\u201d Odoom said. \u201cI\u2019ll just do whatever to make myself feel comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n After being at Winona State for two years, Odoom\u2019s perspective and expectations changed for the better.<\/p>\n He explained that he gets along with everyone.<\/p>\n People don\u2019t see him as an international student, and he doesn\u2019t feel as if he is confined to a clique.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel as if I am an anomaly,\u201d Odoom said.<\/p>\n Odoom hinted at the reason may be because he doesn\u2019t have a \u201cstereotypical\u201d accent that other international students have.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel as if they would treat me differently if that was the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>