The Adaptation of the Horn of Africa Immigrant Students in Higher Education

The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges first generation immigrant students from the Horn of Africa encountered in their college learning in the United States and the strategies they used to succeed. The participants in the study were ten first generation immigrant students from the countries in the Horn of Africa. A case study was used as a qualitative methodological approach and three data sources namely questionnaire, intensive interviews, and observations were used to collect and analyze data. The results revealed that language difficulties, financial problems, lack of culture awareness, time constraints, and inadequate guidance are challenges the first generation immigrant students encountered. The participants used socializing with classmates, socializing with people from their own counties, ignoring or denying anything that causes them discomfort, and attending college events as coping mechanisms to overcome the challenges in the colleges they are attending in the United States

Lived Experiences of Diversity Visa Lottery Immigrants in the United States

Every year approximately 50,000 people immigrate to the United States through the avenue referred to as the Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery. In this article, the authors present a literature review of immigration to the U.S. through the DV Lottery, reflect on their own immigration histories, and utilize phenomenology to investigate and describe participant feelings, expectations, and experiences as DV Lottery immigrants. Participants experienced mixed feelings, including high expectations prior to and difficulties after immigrating to the U.S. Findings presented include (a) life experienced in the U.S.; (b) access to learning and training opportunities; and (c) recommended support future DV Lottery immigrants