Black Men Studying Abroad: A Journey of Self-Revelation and opportunity

As a journalist covering higher education, this year brought many notable stories – from settlements between colleges and the White house, to research and Ph.D. cuts, and American faculty seeking international assignments. Though, my most rewarding assignment was traveling to Japan to write about Black male college students from the U.S. studying abroad.

The number of Black men who choose to study abroad is relatively small,which is why I pursued this story through a fellowship from the Education writers Association. My reporting led me to Tokyo, were I met Tremaine Collins, an art student from Ohio attending Temple University’s Japan campus.Mr. Collins is driven by a desire to achieve a greater reality then what his family – his grandmother and mother, who raised him, and an absentee father – experienced. I also met Demarris Johnson, a confident business major from Delaware resolute to turn his dreams into reality.

“I hope that through people seeing what I’m doing and what others like me are doing that they believe in themselves, that they believe that they can do it as well,” Mr. Johnson says, reflecting on the impact he hopes to have on other Black men considering studying abroad. Despite some initial doubt from family members, his mother’s support was instrumental in fueling his confidence.

“I also want [other] families to see that it is indeed possible, it is happening, and we’re doing it,” he adds. “and if you just gave these children a little more support with their big, outrageous thoughts, they could go a lot farther.”

Their stories evoked nostalgia for my own college days. Like Mr. Collins and Mr. Johnson,I cherished the freedoms of adulthood – my own dorm room,no curfew,a self-made schedule,and the ability to navigate the world on my own terms. They radiate pride and optimism, confident in their ability to create a world they want to live in. So was I.

“I wanted to go out into the world and figure out my own path,” says Mr. Collins, explaining his decision to leave his family in Ohio.