By: Christain Sarna
Engoma Fataki is an international student, a double major in political science and international studies and the president of SGA. His family left their home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo when he was a baby due to civil war. Fataki grew up in several countries but spent most of his childhood in Mozambique. He came to the United States four years ago and attended his last three semesters of high school in Kansas City. He chose Western because of the belief that “everything is possible.”
What is your favorite international event at this school?
You know I’m going to say International Fair, right? The reason why that’s my favorite event is because many of the international students come together and show the traditions that exist in their countries.
What is your dream job?
My ultimate goal is to either work with the United Nations or the United States federal government. I want to work somewhere where I can be impacting the government.
Who are your role models?
There are so many of them, I can’t even decide. This changes on a daily basis, but I’ll go ahead and say Obama. The reason why I say Obama is because, first of all, I think my name and his name rhyme. Engoma, Obama. But also, his story is something I can kind of relate to. Not completely, but I believe as humans we all can relate to one another. I can definitely relate to his speech about how there is no other country where his story would be possible other than America. That was a very powerful statement. He’s my role model because of the way he has made a difference like I aspire to do in my life. I want to have an impact on humanity. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big impact or if it’s small. The small things that we can do can all come together for huge change.
How many languages do you speak?
I speak Swahili and Kibembe, two of my native languages. I’m fluent in Portuguese because I grew up in Mozambique and I barely speak French. I lost French when I entered into the Portuguese school system. I
can also speak a little bit of two other native languages to my country, but it’s been a while since I’ve spoken them. I can also speak a little bit of English.
What language do you dream in?
It depends — this is kind of crazy. When I’m here on campus, I dream in English. Before, when I was in Mozambique, I used to dream in Portuguese because it was the environment I was in on a daily basis. When I’m at home, most of the time I dream in Swahili or Kibembe. My siblings and I mix languages. We literally switch words from Swahili, Portuguese and English at the same time, blending everything together.
Do you have any hobbies?
I am involved with the intramural soccer club, it’s something I do for fun…It’s the only sport I grew up playing, so every time I feel down or tired, it’s something I have to do…Sometimes when I just want to reflect, I go for a run. Meeting new people is also one of my hobbies.
What’s a piece of culture you’ve gained from Western?
The first time I ate Chik-fil-A was on this campus.
What’s something from your home culture that you would like to bring to Western?
Friendship. Not that the people here aren’t friendly or that there isn’t friendship, but I think friendship goes beyond just saying hello. I’ve lived in a lot of countries and have met a lot of people from different
cultures, different backgrounds and different stories. Something that I’ve learned from my journey is to not make assumptions just by someone’s appearance. By getting to know them, by creating that friendship, you
get to know who they really are as a person and not just on the outside. I literally go up to groups of people and introduce myself — and if I were going to get in trouble for this, I probably would have already been in
trouble several times. It’s important that, as small as our campus is, we stay connected. We might not be best friends, but at least I’ve talked to you and learned your name instead of assuming who you are by your
appearance. That’s something I want to bring to Missouri Western.