Building relationships in Eastman - A Kanu Update!

Betsy and I ventured to Eastman today to check in on Kanu and you will all be glad to hear that he is doing very well. We swung by, picked him up and headed to the Cochran Campus before the financial aid office closed. It had been suggested to me by someone who cares about Kanu that it would be wise to meet with the financial aid office and explain Kanu’s special situation. This was great advice. We learned a lot from our visit and I believe his aid advisor learned a little more about Kanu. It was time well spent and he got some dates and deadlines that he needed to know. They found out he has support in the form of 2 “moms”, Betsy and me.

 

I realized Kanu needs an advocate to help him navigate all the dates, deadlines and fees so he doesn’t miss something. I did not helicopter parent my kids and I certainly won’t be doing this with him but I realized today that without someone asking essential questions, he could make expensive mistakes. Too many assumptions are made on the part of the college concerning new students. They need a mentor for these kids, especially new students. Thank you to Bobby King for suggesting that I get involved with the financial aid office. It will make a difference.

 

We stopped by his bank and deposited $750 in contributions from Finders Keepers customers and consignors. Kanu couldn’t believe money was still coming in. We brought him copies of the Champion article written about his journey. I hope you all saw it! Betsy made his favorite cookies and brought some of his favorite foods. We stopped by the grocery store stocked him up on a few things, including a can opener. Don’t ask how he has been getting by without one!

 

Then we headed to the Aviation Campus and met Chad who co-ordinates and manages the flight instructors. He was both helpful and encouraging to Kanu as he gave us multiple sites to visit for scholarships. Chad did a bit of mentoring on the spot, giving Kanu advice on the best way to approach each segment of flight school and training.

 

As we were leaving the campus, a guy pulled up beside us and jumped out of his SUV. He stopped us and asked if he had heard correctly that Kanu was from Liberia. Kanu got out and spoke with him and it turns out that this young man was raised in Kenya and Nigeria by his missionary parents. He offered encouragement and advice on loans, classes, flying and instructors and it turns out they are in a class together! His name is Jordan and he shared that one of the main instructors is a Christian and really cares about the students. He and Kanu exchanged phone numbers. Jordan didn’t have to stop us or even notice Kanu but he went out of his way to meet him and I am convinced that was divine.

 

 

So we made progress building relationships today: Kathy in Financial Aid, Chad, the flight instructor coordinator and Jordan, a fellow student. Mustafa has been invaluable with his knowledge of campus life…and his car. Kanu is surrounded by support in Eastman and he knows that he has support at his Finders Keepers home, too. He has been a little homesick but he is building a life in Eastman, as he should, one relationship at a time.

A first step for Kanu and a walk down Mom-Mode memory lane for me

On a recent rainy Monday, Kanu and I loaded up my minivan with as much of his furniture that would fit and headed off to find a place for him to live in Eastman, Ga. Always upbeat, Kanu had given me no indication that his housing situation for college was dire. Several roommate options had materialized and then vanished over the past few months and Kanu was super stressed out but not letting on. Finally, before our fundraiser, he told me that he had no place to stay and was a bit worried. Well that’s all it took for me to go into Mom-Mode and make a plan. We would drive to Eastman the next day we both had off and find a place for him to live.

 

So that day arrived and we headed down south to accomplish 2 goals: one was to open a bank account with all of the money customers, consignors and fellow employees contributed during our fundraising (over $4000!) and two was to find housing. I had 2.5 hours in the car with Kanu to “discuss” what I thought was important, how to manage money, how to stay focused, how to write thank you notes and more. Okay, maybe it was a bit of a lecture but hopefully some of it sank in. And remember, I was in Mom-Mode…..

 

Mustafa, Kanu’s friend who attends the Aviation School, met us and rode with us to various housing possibilities he had already scoped out, saving us a world of time. We saw a trailer in a really remote area but fairly close to the school, public housing and all of that paperwork, unaffordable apartments and condo rentals and finally a one bedroom duplex unit. We decided on the duplex unit because it is close to Mustafa and the shopping district and not a bad bicycle ride to school. The trailer was fine but it was far from everything and Kanu will be traveling by bicycle so this could be problematic. Also, I think he will be more comfortable closer to a friend.

 

We opened his account at the main bank in town where they graciously welcomed him as a customer and offered their own words of wisdom. Mustafa was with us and many of the pretty girls working there stopped by to give him a hug. Somehow, I think these guys are pretty popular in town!

 

We stopped by the campus where Kanu will be spending most of his time and saw the hanger with all of the planes he will be flying including the old Air Tran Plane that serves as a landmark for the left turn to the school.

 

So as a Mom, I now feel that Kanu is going to be okay. He has a home, money in the bank, a few old friends and a few new ones. He has people “at home” who care about him and to come home to.  He has Betsy and me planning random visits to Eastman to check on him and folks who want to send him “care packages”.

It was on the way home from Eastman that Kanu let on just how worried he had been about it all as he thanked me for taking my day off to drive to Eastman with him. He explained how he had hardly been able to focus because the fear of the unknown was taking over and weighing him down. This trip to Eastman, Finders Keepers, his job, his co-workers and customers had blessed him. Now his spirits were lifted, he could be a college kid, be excited about his future.

 

That was my blessing and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.