Senior Marius Ibuye may have a very different past than many of his fellow Oregon State University Honors College students, but he has never let that get in his way.
“Life is about hard work,” Marius says. “I’m the one who chooses my path and defines what I become.”
In 2010, Marius and his family moved to Portland from a refugee camp in Tanzania, where his mother and eight siblings had lived for eight years after fleeing from their home country, the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
After graduating from high school in Portland, Marius enrolled at Portland Community College. He was a student there in the Future Connect program designed to broaden access to education through financial support and mentorship.
“It was a good thing for me as an ESL (English as a Second Language) student,” Marius says. “The classes were slow-paced, and they were able to help me with everything to get me to the point where I needed to be.”
Marius knew he wanted to study pharmacy, and after two years at PCC, he was awarded the Ford Family Scholarship and applied to Oregon State and the Honors College, where he enrolled in pre-pharmacy with a minor in health policy management. Marius received a National Science Foundation scholarship for students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, administered through the Honors College, which Marius says lessened his stress about taking care of college financially. In Honors courses, Marius has enjoyed working with other students who are also motivated about their education.
“I didn’t know anything about the Honors College, but advisors at PCC said it was a cool thing,” Marius says. “I really enjoy being a part of the Honors College because it tells me more about me; it’s an identity for me. I don’t like being an average student. I like to know that I am doing something big.”
He is no stranger to working hard and tackling new challenges. In the refugee camp, many of his peers saw studying as fruitless, but Marius committed much of his time to learning English. He was mostly self-taught, reading English books translated from French. He learned most English grammar rules, but he didn’t have a chance to really speak, listen, and apply the language until he came to the United States.
“I didn’t have a teacher in the camps,” Marius says. “People were willing to help us, but they were learning at the same time. I was learning a language that I didn’t have the sound for.”
His dedicated study of English helped ease his transition to the United States, and he attributes much of his academic success to his early motivation to overcome personal challenges.
“I didn’t experience the kind of childhood, the kind of life other people my age might experience,” Marius says. “I had less. I used to be sad about it, but now I know it was a training time and a training camp where I was learning to be self-motivated and proactive. We didn’t have money, but we had time. We had to use it for ourselves, to get something bigger out of it.”
Marius explains that the camp environment made it all too easy to stay complacent. Many spend years in the camps without tangible hope of a new life.
“I didn’t know I would end up in the United States,” Marius says. I didn’t know where I was going or where I could end up, and it wasn’t my home.”
Marius will graduate this June, after completing his thesis “The Effect of Dark Period on Growth Rate of Cyanobacterium, Synechococcus,” becoming the first member of his family to hold a college degree. Marius hopes his hard work will encourage others to pursue similar goals. Two of his younger siblings are now enrolled in college.
“I’m glad that I am an inspiration for them,” Marius says. “I’m glad to be there to show them that you have to earn what you want. You have to fight for it, even though it might not be easy. I don’t see myself as a quitter; I’ll fight for what I want.”
Finishing his degree is just the beginning for Marius. He plans to continue his education in pharmacy school and hopes to impact community health in a far-reaching and interactive way. Living in Portland, Marius was a voting member of the Multnomah Youth Commission and worked for the City of Portland in the Youth Planning Program, which aims to bring the youth voice to city planning discussions. That job sparked an awareness of the impact of public policy on community well-being and has directed his interests toward pharmacy and health policy management.
“I love to interact with people, and I like to serve others,” Marius says. “I learned that to be a leader you have to learn how to serve others. It’s not about the money, it’s about being there for people. I like being part of a team working to make change and working to increase everyone’s quality of life.”
Marius hopes his background will help him connect with a diverse array of people and serve communities in need of a voice.
“I am able to look at different cultures and understand people from different backgrounds,” Marius says. “I understand being outside of America, it’s very different. Maybe I can help because I know how to serve those people who weren’t raised here.”
Going forward, Marius believes in finding new ways to help people and constantly asking the question, “How do we make the health of people better?”
“I believe in being there for people,” Marius says. “I love giving hope…. In a refugee camp, there is no hope at all, but I believed something great would happen in my future. Some people thought I was crazy, but that’s something I appreciate about myself now. Now it is paying off.”
By Emma-Kate Schaake
Congratulation brother in Christ. Successful is knocking at your door, and miracle will happen.
After meeting Marius and his contagious I am inspired to reach to some forgotten goals I have previously set for myself. He is an intelligent and caring person. Thank you to everyone who has had their hand in shaping this young mind, I know there is only good things to come!