Junior Musa Mihigo talks moving to Denver from Kenya
By Allie Kelly
The flight from Kenya to Colorado is 21 hours and 20 minutes. The plane takes off in a humid airport, finally landing in Denver, where the weather is always unpredictable. Just a year ago, East High School junior Musa Mihigo left his home in Kenya for the mountain-shadowed streets of Denver. Beginning his first year at East, Mihigo found himself in a different world, a community fueled by thousands of students where English is spoken in every classroom.
One of many students who face the challenge of assimilating to a new country, Mihigo is split between polarizing cultures. Originally from the Congo, Mihigo moved between Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya before settling in America with his family. “I speak seven languages,” Mihigo explains. “Really, I speak 10 languages, but there are seven that I am good in.” Raised speaking French, Mihigo is familiar with the hard work of building a new vocabulary.
“The most shocking part of [moving to America] is the language itself,” says Mihigo. “The challenging part about learning English is trying to translate words from my own language.” Yet being enrolled in the English Language Development (ELD) program at East, Mihigo spends time with students like him: immigrant students, and students with limited English experience. “My ELD class helps me learn because I can ask questions,” explains Mihigo, “I am nervous to ask [questions] in my other classes with a large amount of students.”
East prides itself on being an inclusive environment, offering resources to help students succeed, regardless of their cultural or economic backgrounds. Mihigo credits his ELD classes for allowing him to thrive both socially and in the classroom. Still, Mihigo thinks of himself as just a normal student. His hobbies include playing soccer, drums, piano, guitar and singing.
For the East community, interacting with immigrant students like Mihigo demands an attitude of acceptance—especially in today’s heightened political climate. “My Dad wanted us to know about our future,” says Mihigo, “and what our future can be like in other countries.”
At East and beyond, Mihigo is conscious of his future. “I want to go to college,” he concludes. “I want to become a firefighter.”
While Mihigo is not personally affected by Trump’s recent attack on DACA, he sympathizes, “Some immigrants come from countries where they suffer. They come here to find peace. The United States is a country where they can live a better life.”
The preceding is an entry in this month’s Life on Capitol Hill Youth Voices Series in which a story, written by a student from a school in our coverage area, is featured each month. If you are a student who would like to contribute a story or know of a student who is interested, please send an email to editor@denvermetromedia.com.
Allie Kelly is a high school junior and the Features editor for the East High Newspaper, The Spotlight, where this story was first published. In addition to journalism, Kelly also writes essays and short stories and is an active competitor in Speech and Debate. When not writing, Kelly enjoys skiing the back bowls at Mary Jane.
