Reflections on a Return to Norway.

There couldn’t be a better inspiration than sitting at the UWC Norway office while writing this. Three years after graduating from UWC RCN, Norway feels like a second home to me. I have been here during the last three summers, for Norwegian language courses and internships at a renewable energy firm and for volunteering at Startuplab. These activities would probably surprise my former colleagues as they would have been aware of my zeal to join the mainstream aerospace engineering industry.  The story behind this transformation is, to me the embodiment of my UWC experience.

I grew up in Otiende village in Soy, a smallholder farmers’ locality in Kakamega county, Kenya. Like any other kid, I enjoyed the adventurous exploits of growing up in the countryside. I had thoughts of leaving the country to study and pursue other dreams, but the practical circumstances were less likely to allow this. Having been lucky to receive information about an opportunity, I was able to slowly make the dream a reality: I attended a national high school in Kenya through which my classmate and I were able to lead a drive for a rural electrification project in a neighbouring locality. I also completed an exchange programme in the United States where I learned about UWC and chose to apply.

The stay at UWC RCN was fulfilling. I learned more about myself and the world in those two years. I learned to appreciate other peoples’ stories and, from them, shape my future career and change my prospects. I have always wanted to use my educational experience to help unite people for peace and a sustainable future. Currently I am at the University of Oklahoma and have completed my third year of an Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering degree.

The greatest highlight of my ‘life after RCN’ is  submitting to change. I had different educational and career dreams after graduation. However, the unspoken issue is whether I will be able to reconcile those dreams with my redefined values. Allowing myself to adjust for example, and settling in a new place and tailoring my career path to effectively suit my passion and desire for change was the best decision that I have made.  I am now planning to further my education and start a career in sustainable engineering with a focus on renewable energy development. Here I will be best suited to make an impact and influence change leading to the attainment of sustainable development goals.

I would like to think of my life and achievements as testimony to how access to information can empower an individual. The UWC experience has played a central part in opening up this information to me and it has provided an environment in which to grow the ideas for change. I am so grateful for the family, friendship, love, kindness, mentorship and drive that I have received through joining the movement. I believe the world will eventually be a better place when we continue to use the acquired drive to learn, cooperate, advance change and inspire others.

Eduardo Campbell was profiled in a piece written for Oklahoma University’s student-run magazine, Forum, that looks at his journey as an Afro-Latinx individual and his leadership role with activism.
We reprint it here. Follow the link to see the original.

Ask Me About My Blackness, Not My Hair: A Conversation with Eduardo Campbell
April 25, 2019 by Pickles

An epiphany is what Eduardo called it. A sudden realization about the nature of being or the realities associated to oneself. About three years ago, Eduardo had a coming out with his Blackness.

He was raised in Panama with his family and he had the darkest skin color compared to his other relatives. However, he was never labeled as being “Black” until he moved to the United States and people started associating him with the term “Black.”

Then, he had a sudden realization that he was not aware of race categories and has never identified himself as black back in Panama.

“I started to question why did my family never allow me to consider myself Black?”

When Eduardo left Panama to Brazil to study before coming to the U.S. when he was 17, he described the utmost shock from realizing he had curly hair when he first had the freedom to grow it out. He was baffled by living in a Panamanian society that perpetuated whiteness through physical looks such as always maintaining straight hair at a young age to be beautiful.

Curly hair wasn’t accepted in the workplace and looks were given if your hair was unruly rather than stripped back and straight.

Yet, he grasped onto his identity of being an Afro-Latino AND Black.

Eduardo began to participate in social movements, rallies, and marches in Brazil and later all the way to Norman, Oklahoma.

During his spring semester, he was motivated by his passions in social activism to broaden awareness for racial justice.

However, the blackface scandal by two white sorority girls on campus deeply affected OU students of all colors by its outright racist acts against Black people. Eduardo took the initiative to contact the Black Student Association, OU professors, and friends to organize a Rally Against Racism in the Molly Shi Ballroom in January.

Hundreds of people came to the rally to stand in solidarity and sit in a space for students to feel heard about the injustices brought onto OU’s campus. Beyond physically standing alongside one another, Eduardo wanted to promote inclusivity and acceptance of all races through awareness and education.

“Race is so limited in America to the point where there is no concept of intersectionality and understanding that a Latino can also be Black, White, Indigenous, and Asian.”

Eduardo is more than a student, leader, and social activist. He is an ally to all communities. Walking hand in hand with everyone despite their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexuality is powerful. As students, we have the power to change OU to become a safe space for all marginalized voices to be heard.

A special thanks to FORUM Magazine. for considering me to be part of the project.