I knew you were...!

I went to a small grammar (elementary) school; roughly 30 students in each grade from Kindergarten to 8th grade. A majority of the people I graduated with, I’ve known since we started Kindergarten together, 9 years earlier.

With a group this small, it was almost a given that several characteristics about your identity were unique. For example, I was the only Nigerian that most of my classmates probably knew for a while. Some of my classmates probably did not have close encounters with another Nigerian until high school or college.

In grammar school, I had (and still have) a Greek friend named Madeline and she influenced my understanding of the Hellenic culture. As I was introduced to more Hellenic people, over the years, she would often come to mind and facts (and possibly stereotypes) that I knew about the culture through her.

For example, this past week I made a new Greek friend. We exchanged some introductory questions when we both identified and related with each other as being first generation.

Me: Are you Greek Orthodox?
John: Yeah. About 98% of Greeks are Greek Orthodox.
Me: Does your last name end in "o-u-s"? (oulos)
John: No, it’s _____ it’s like the "Smith" of Greek, but many names do end in o-u-s.

Just the same, some of the questions he had for me were based on what he knew of the Nigerian culture, probably from his first encounter with a Nigerian.

The power of a first (or only) impression; it really lasts. It was then that I realized, everyone one I went to school with learned about the Nigerian culture, based on what I represented, intentionally, through conversations and International nights and inadvertently, through my actions, word choice, attire and just everyday living and habits.

At the African Christian Fellowship young adults conference, last summer in Chicago, themed “Salt of the Earth,” a comment a friend made during a small group discussion stuck with me. “People know I’m Nigerian right away by my name. That’s one of the first things they know.”

Automatically, as a “foreigner” you typically do not blend in, unless you’re trying really hard to. I often get the “...I thought you were [something other than the norm!]” "I could tell...." or "I knew you were…!" What they’re basically articulating is “I knew you were different!”

One of the first things people should know about us is that we are Christians. As a Christian, you are a citizen of a future city.  This is not our permanent residence, we are foreigners. Someone should be able to say “I knew you were Christian” or “I could tell you were Christian” “you’re different!” all the time, because as the salt we’re not made to blend in. It should go without saying, but I really have to emphasize all the time, as in everywhere, all day, everyday.

Also, as John and I were able to detect ourselves, foreigners can usually detect themselves. As a Christian, another Christian should be able to detect that you also are not a citizen of this world, all the time. You are a foreigner. Further, some foreigners have the desire, deep inside of them, to relocate or retire "back home" to their native land. Just the same, we are longing for our home, so we cannot get too comfortable here.

We were not made to blend in, during our life journey to our future home. What we do, as professing Christians, gives off a fragrance representing Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16:

14) But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. 15) Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16) To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

Unbelievers and the undiscipled will remember everything about the culture of Christ, by what we, as believers, teach them intentionally and inadvertently, whether accurate or inaccurate.


Which culture are you representing, all the time?

Jesus: who do you say I am?
Your Answer: [Insert the way you live your life here.] 

 The culture of the Kingdom is the culture of the King! If you’re not representing the culture of the Kingdom, which culture or kingdom are you representing? - Pastor Billy Humphrey

The race you have to win

All glory and honor to Jesus! The end of a matter is better than its beginning and patience is better than pride. Ecclesiastes 7:8. C'est fini! Today, I completed my last exam, as a student at the University of Illinois. After 7.5 years, it is time to say goodbye to Champaign! Thank You Jesus!

Saturday, December 11, 2010, I graduated from the School of Labor and Employment at the University of Illinois. The graduation took place at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in the Colwell Playhouse. I gave the remarks on behalf of the Class of 2010 and the transcript is below.

Good afternoon, graduates, faculty, families and friends. Thank you all for coming to our ceremony. We are happy to have you here to share in this joyous time with us.

The title of my speech is called “The Race You Have To Win.”

In life, we are all in a race, yet each of us are in a different race with several supporters cheering us along the way. Many of those supporters are here today in this auditorium. Thankfully, along each of our races, we were able to cross paths for the past year and a half at the School of Labor and Employment.

Seven years ago, after my first semester in undergrad, here at the University of Illinois, I remember running down the stairs at the Weston Residence Hall exclaiming “one semester down, just seven more to go!” with a sigh of relief that I completed my first semester as a college student. Little did I know, in my capped off far-sighted vision into the future, that I would actually be at the University of Illinois for an additional seven more semesters after undergrad. This would make an additional seven years from my first semester.

Seven is also my favorite number. It’s signifies completion. Now seven years later, I stand before you today along with my colleagues, having completed our last semester, as a student, at the School of Labor and Employment at the University of Illinois.

So after seven years, you might imagine I would receive the “oh you must really like school” comment and the “What is MHRIR?” question. And you’re right. Just the other day after a student visit, I was talking to Brandon and Jen and after explaining that I’ve been here since 2003, Brandon asks “do you like Champaign?” And as a city girl, I never thought I would say this but I actually do and it will be sad to leave this place I’ve come to call home. I will miss the good cornfields. I will miss getting to places in 10 minutes and watching this city change and the temperature being slightly warmer than Chicago and gas being slightly cheaper than Chicago. I won’t particularly miss the parking enforcement though. More importantly, it will be sad to leave all of you.

I began undergrad in Champaign, as an 18 year old Psychology major; a familiar beginning for many of my colleagues. And like many of you, I also came to that turning point in undergrad where I decided to change majors. Yet at the same time, it is a very different story for many of my colleagues hailing from 94 undergraduate institutions and 13 countries! It would eventually turn out to be a different story for me as well.

After undergrad, I decided to stay pretty close for law school, as in down the street, which added another 3 years to my tenure in Champaign. And at the law school I met Professor LeRoy! Anyone who has come into contact with him, or taken any of his classes here, knows exactly what this means. He and other important people in my life, such as my mom, are the reason that I stand before you today being able to pursue exactly what I wanted to do.

We all began this lap of our race in 2009. I was so surprised that on the first day of orientation, Becky knew my name and everything about me. Then I quickly understood that this school cares about each person in the program and makes it a point to know you. On that first day, I also discovered the wealth that existed in the three-story brick building on 5th and Armory. I felt so fortunate to be in the newly-named-changed School of Labor and Employment. Here I found diversity of cultures, and schools of business and technology as well as an immense and supportive career service center, faculty and alumni base. On a Monday, I told Nell exactly what I was interested in and literally by Tuesday she connected me with alumni from across the country. These alumni significantly helped me change my perspective on my career for the better.

Here we are today December, 11, 2010, a year and a half into the race from where we started and the race is nowhere near complete. Some would even say our race is just beginning depending on your perspective and the School of Labor Employment gave us the best warm up laps. Now we are sitting here about to receive our degrees with many of our supporters and a cloud of witnesses happy to join us here in the audience. I think we need to give our supporters a round of applause because they were the ones that helped us to keep running this race.

As of Summer 2010, there were over 2300 School of Labor Employment alumni employed in 47 different states in the U.S. including, D.C. and Puerto Rico, and in more than 30 foreign countries. Among them are senior corporate executives, government officials, HR consultants, union officials, faculty members, and university administrators.

Now graduates, look around, we are the new generation of HR and IR professionals, consultants, government and union officials, administrators and directors. I think you should also clap for yourselves for making it this far on your race. And as we finish our last final examination in the program next week, we will race out into the world to join these successful University of Illinois MHRIR alumni. Fellow graduates, we are very privileged to be in these seats. I am so honored to be in great company, having the opportunity to join the graduating class of December 2010.

I admit it hasn’t hit me yet, that we’re actually leaving. Maybe it will hit me when I’m stuck in traffic again in the big city on my way to work, or sometime next year when I no longer view the year in semester lenses. Or maybe, it will hit me when I’m not driving down Interstate 57 on a Sunday night for my 8am class with Professor Avgar. Although, it will be sad to leave, it is a bitter sweet leave. This program is the hardest thing many of us have done, it is the hardest thing I have done to date and we have successfully completed this lap in our race. The School of Labor and Employment has adequately prepared us for the next step, judging by the experiences from many of my peers this past summer as well as our antecessors who have shared their experiences with us. So in a sense it was our warm- up lap for our race. And although there are no official rankings, I am certain that this was the best warm up lap hands down.

Before I came to this program I somehow avoided the business classes, like the plague apart from the general requirements. Leaving this program, my business acumen has skyrocketed. One thing I learned in Professor Lubotsky’s Health Savings and Family Issues in the Workplace class is that generally speaking there are two assets that are very hard to diversify. One is your house and the second is your skill set; your human capital. However, at this program we are at such an advantage with the second asset. Our skill sets are already diverse. Our education at the School of Labor and Employment has opened so many roads of opportunities and given us several choices that many of us otherwise would not have had prior to entering this program.

Graduates, no matter where we are in this world, whether we are in small town, Ohio, to New York City to Beijing, China we will always have the bond of being Fighting Illini at this point in our race. And as I conclude, I would like to leave my fellow Illini with following words of advice. There is a race set before that you have to win. This race isn't given to the swift but to the one that can endure through the end. I started this year with many goals, and graduating from the School of Labor and Employment was one of them, we all made it!   More importantly, we are guaranteed a prize at the end of this race, so continue working hard and I know that we will hear of many of each of our races throughout the school walls and across the world.  As we leave this campus as alumni, continue to run your race.   Pace yourself through your race to run your best race, helping others along the way and know that you’ve already won.  Thank You.

Convocation Ceremony School of Labor and Employment at the University of Illinois

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Reference: I Corinthians 9; Ecclesiastes 9.

Speech inspired by: Pastor Fola Oluwehinmi -- King's Assembly, RCCG.

Photo by: Lola Adegoke

Supported by: So many people: family, ACF, JHC, KA, friends, mentors, faculty!

Could only have done it by and through: JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember when we were young and color blind

I remember when . . .
When we were young and color blind.
When we had no sense of time.
Spelling and Math homework was our only concept of responsibility.

I always knew I was a Nigerian.
No one had to tell me, I could just figure it out.
Made my first trip to the Motherland when I was five.
And this was increasingly evident when my mom dressed me in a purple tie-dye Ankara on Halloween.

Little brown girl, with the best of both worlds.
Leggos and jump ropes, Fresh Bread, Semo and Soup (Stew).
Just the same, no one had to tell me I was black.
I was black and so were several people in my neighborhood (Uptown) and in my church (Faith Tabernacle).
I was black and so were a few people in my grammar school and on my bus route, my bus driver was black too.

Ms. Meister was my first grade teacher and she was my favorite teacher at the time.
My classmates and I looked forward to reading time at the end of the day.
We would form on the carpet, one after the other, once we finished our class work.
Ms. Meister read us several novels: The Boxcar Children, Stuart Little and the like.
Then she began reading Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.

I remember when
She came to the part just before Ms. Tubman was struck with an iron.
Some time prior to that, I involuntarily curled up in a praying position, on the carpet.
I was so fearful of what was to come.

Suddenly, Ms. Meister stopped reading
Christina? [pause]
I just looked up; surprised that I even ended up in that position.
Are you okay?
I felt 60-something 6-year-old eyes staring at me awaiting my response.
With a shocked yet embarrassed look on my face, nervously I nodded in the affirmative.
Then I fixed my posture and she continued reading.
And we continued listening not only with our ears and imaginations but with our eyes.

Then I started to understand what it meant to be black.
In a classroom where the African Americans could be counted on one hand,
it became very apparent, not only to me, but also to everyone else, that I was black.
We were still young but no longer color blind . . .

Church in the state

So I’m working up the courage to just invite people openly to church events without thinking about the political correctness.

This morning in class . . .

Thoughts: hmm I wonder what some of these valley girls are going to think? Would I get a “how dare this law grad try to invite us to something about church here, doesn’t she know better?” Followed by all this unwarranted {in my objective opinion} offense for the rest of the year.

*SHRUG*

Me: Professor A., are we allowed to announce campus events? {I mean they announce all types of events in class, some of which could be offensive to me, why not? it's only fair, equal opportunity.}
Professor: Sure. What is it, just so I know and I’m not caught off guard?
Me: It’s called All Campus Worship
Professor: Oh. It’s religious *hand toss* well maybe we can just save that, but you’re more than welcome to announce it after class.

Thoughts: Oh of course, when everyone is packing up to go as quickly as they can after sitting here for three hours…. O____O ok...."a time and a place for everything huh?..."

Lesson 1: There are going to be people that will say no, but that doesn’t change my role. Moreover, there are going to be people that say yes, {Praise Jesus!} and that still does not change my role [here].

A few weeks ago, I went to an intercession meeting where a woman prayed about the upcoming elections. One of her points asked [in summation] for the Lord to completely occupy all government positions with pro-life Christians [sounds like an oxy-moron, but that's a different post], among other related topics and issues. My legal training made me question if that’s even constitutionally possible and just possible right now . . .

For example, on the issue of abortion:

1. Do people know enough about where the candidate stands on abortion or are the majority of voters casting party-line votes?
2. Would everyone who is pro-life vote for that candidate based on that one issue?
3. Would the pro-life votes be enough to place someone in office? Are there enough people that care?
4. Prior to that, and more importantly, would a pro-life candidate add their pro-life beliefs to their campaign without fear of losing their pro-choice constituents?

[it is possible by the way]

Then I thought . . .

1. Is everyone tip-toeing around trying not to offend “somebody?” I mean I know there are a lot more Christians on this campus, in this program, in this class right now. . . I hope . . .
2. Are we just trying to be politically correct?! {but why?} 

What am I doing, what am I waiting for?

Political correctness – I’m done with that! It's so incorrect. Separating the church from the state, for Christians should be a {pound, capital fail}.  ---> #FAIL

"No church in this world should ever be satisfied with the separation of church and state!"  -David Sliker.

My beliefs come before my profession because my beliefs came before my profession.  It is only because of my beliefs that I am here.  Moreover, the fruition of my ultimate beliefs will be here way after my profession is all said and done.

If you’re faithful with a little you’ll be faithful with a lot. He has placed us in these various spheres of influence for one main reason. If I'm not doing that, then what am I doing?? {being politically correct? - is that what that is? sounds like something else . . . } Furthermore, how am I going to go from not openly witnessing at school {my current level of influence} to witnessing at the next perfect position He will bless me with? {a possibly greater sphere of influence, with likely more at stake}. Salt serves no purpose in the shaker.

"Save that" <--- Respectfully, I dissent. ;-)

I'm voting church in the state and church in the schools! --> church everywhere because church is everywhere {it should be} since we are the church. >>  *CHURCH!

Why? Why Not!

so earlier today an exchange in my Workplace Dispute Resolution class went like this:

Professor: Why? [to student who answers affirmatively and so confidently]

Student: Why not?

O_O . . . What a cop out answer I thought.  I mean we are in school to learn, obviously the Professor is trying to get at a point. (so sad that the words "well" and "obviously" still remind me of the bed intruder interview, with the neck roll anywho) Needless to say, I wasn't too fond of the answer in the classroom setting, at the time. However, "Why Not?" summarized my portion of an unexpected but welcomed conversation I had right before that class with a new fried.

So first, God will send people to you. We just have to be ready. I met my friend earlier in the semester, she just came up to me, politely bold, right after class one day. Apparently she thought I took good notes -- which I guess I do (could), but when people are relying on your notes you tend to "multi-task" less, so in turn that's helping me to excel in this class.

A little backdrop and setting: On Mondays, I usually have a 3 hour gap in my day and have to decide where is the most efficient and effective place to relocate to; my two Monday classes are in the same room. Just as I was thinking to myself where should I go that has a clean microwave, for my lunch, (I very much dislike -Naija grammar, a dirty microwave - gross) I heard the good news: the class that is usually in that classroom during my break was canceled today.  So I decided to stay there and just as the last student trickled out, I began to play my music with no headphones (freedom!). After about 2.5 hours in solitude, in walks my new friend, arriving early for our WDR class. We made our small talk and greetings and eventually she comments on the music I was watching/listening to "that's beautiful" she says (it really is, Jon Thurlow is anointed! -check up on him) and we went from there . . . 

Second, God will give you the right words to say and the right time to say them. We just have to be prepared, to an extent.


In the beginning, God created = my faith. (that's all I really need, but there's more)

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. (there's still more)

He authored the script to every single day of my life before my life was even alive. (it just goes on and on and on)


Love God Why? Why Not?!  . . .  Let me tell you about what He's done and what He does . . . (It's all about Him!) so Why Not?

Basically, that  ^^ came out in our discussion, (and the Jesus part; the kicker) which were some things I was thinking about recently in relation to atheists and near-future plans (it's related somehow, I'll connect it back in another post). My (Chicago) church's theme is currently focused on evangelizing. Mainly, someone cared enough to share the gospel with me, and just the same, someone(s) need me to share the good news with them. Why not?

This was probably one of the easiest opportunities to openly witness and it was so unforced and accepted. She just kept hitting me with another innocent knowledge-seeking question. What if I turned off the music as soon as she entered? (because I really almost did, but it wasn't loud so I left it playing) What if I decided to plug in my headphones to tune the people out that would soon trickle in for class? (these what ifs were very much a possibility especially when you've been caught near a conversation you could have done without overhearing, about so and so's weekend activities and randomness o_0)

What a missed opportunity that would've been, I've already missed some and I don't want to miss anymore. Now I just have to bring her to a church with me and/or find a Chinese church to take her to before I leave Champaign in 8 weeks! Time is flying . . .

God is good so Why not?