PHARMACIST IN DIASPORA: KENECHUKWU BEN-UMEH
Interviewed by Ogundipe Yemisi & Ishaku Daniel
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Kenechukwu Ben-Umeh, and I prefer to be called Kene, although most people from my undergraduate know me as Ben. Post University, I have introduced myself as Kene so that people can know me by my first name. Ben is my father’s name. I am a pharmacy graduate from the University of Nigeria Nsukka, and I am currently a PhD student studying Pharmacotherapy Outcomes and Health Policy at the University of Utah.
I am from Anambra state but grew up and had all my education in Enugu. I am the fourth of five children. I love reading novels, travelling, and listening to music in my free time.
I like to think of myself as ambitious, and I am a planner. I love interacting with people, although I was very introverted as an undergraduate at the University.
So why are you now more outgoing?
It started with the group of friends I interacted with in my 300-level undergraduate days, which were fun and helped me open up. Plus, I realized that I would achieve more by interacting with people.
Did you practice in Nigeria before relocating?
I interned at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD). I also worked in retail practice during and after my internship and as a research assistant at the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN).”
How did you land that position?
It was a research assistant position at the International Research Center of Excellence (IRCE), an arm of IHVN. There I worked on a prospective cohort study that evaluated the burden and progression of non-communicable diseases and its risk factors among clients newly tested for HIV at testing and counselling centres in the federal capital territory.”
I found out about the opening from a friend who worked in IHVN. When he heard of a slot on the project, he recommended me, and I got interviewed and accepted for the position.
At what point did you realize that you wanted to relocate?
For me, I have always known that I wanted to Japa. Post-secondary school, I applied to Ukraine for my undergraduate studies, but my visa did not work out.
Upon graduation, I was sure I wanted to leave; however, during my internship at NIPRD, it became clearer because I had colleagues already applying to schools and for scholarships abroad. So in 2020, I started working on building my profile. I applied for a travel grant for a conference in Denmark to present a paper in preparation for graduate school. I did not get the funding; however, my family sponsored my trip.
How many applications did you send out?
I applied to twelve US schools, including ten PhD and two master’s applications. Despite my apathy for the UK, I still applied for the Chevening scholarship to spread my tentacles.
How was the application process? Were you tired at some point?
It was highly demanding, both financially and psychologically. I started by writing GRE and TOEFL.
Writing the exams requires much preparation, a minimum of two months for GRE preparation. I then compiled a list of schools and programs I. was interested in applying to, wrote my personal statement, informed my referees that I would need recommendation letters, finally paid application fees, and sent my applications. Then came the nerve-racking waiting period after sending the applications.”
Did you send cold emails to professors in the 12 schools during your application?
Cold emails to professors are not a stringent requirement for most US schools. However, reaching out to a professor after reading their profiles is a good idea just as a means of introducing yourself and getting familiar with them. So yes, I sent cold emails to some professors, but not to all the schools I applied to.
How did you feel when you landed in the US?
I was very excited because I had a history of denied visas, and this was not the denied visa application I got fresh from secondary school. I applied for the ISPOR conference in the US (New Orleans) in 2019. My abstract was accepted, but my US visa was denied. After that, I applied for the ISPOR Europe conference in Denmark and got a visa. Thankfully after the ISPOR US visa application experience, I got travel experience to Europe, plus my fully funded PhD scholarship helped during my subsequent visa application.
What do you enjoy the most about being abroad?
I enjoy a society that works. Things are orderly, and you enjoy studying. Contrary to the belief that studying in the US is like Nigerian Jollof, it is quite tasking because as a funded PhD student, one has to work as a teaching or research assistant and at the same time attend lectures and get to do a truckload of assignments and course projects. This was new to me because I was not used to constant weekly assignments and working while schooling.
However, the good thing is that these constant assignments contribute to your final grade, and exams are equally weighted. Schools provide almost all the resources needed to succeed as a student, such as a license for analytical software, Grammarly & more. These are the reasons why I enjoy studying abroad.
How is your social life now? Seeing that you are somewhat reserved
I do not go out as often as I would like during the semester, but I try to hang out with friends and colleagues at least once a month. However, during the holidays, I get to go out more.
I am currently interning in New Jersey and have been exploring a lot, visiting nearby cities and other states, and hanging out with other interns. So I would say my social life is pretty good now.”
Can you tell us about your internship?
This summer, I got an internship placement with a Pharma company called Novo Nordisk. I work as a Real-World Evidence Intern, and my work revolves around racial representation in real-world data sources. I got this internship by applying to several openings advertised by different Pharma companies on Glassdoor and LinkedIn. I interviewed with some and was selected for this position. It is an excellent way to gain industry experience while in grad school and build your network.
Do you miss Nigerian food?
First of all, I am not too fond of American food. I remember a day after classes during my first week in school when I was still staying in a hotel. I was so hungry that I bought something that looked like chicken to assuage my hunger, which was sugary. That consolidated my dislike for American cuisine.
Fortunately, because I have relatives visiting from Nigeria often, I get a constant supply of Nigerian food.
Have you had any experience with racism since you relocated?
I have not had such encounters. My department is very diverse; although I was the only black student in my department for a year, there were a lot of Asians. The people I have encountered in Salt Lake City are very accommodating. I remember an incident, but I cannot categorically tag it as racism because it could have been teenagers being unruly. So on this day, I was in the company of my senior colleagues to get ice cream at night when some white kids in a car threw a sachet of water at my Indian colleague.
As a PhD student, are there other opportunities to hustle while schooling?
Sadly, as a funded PhD student, you are on an F-1 visa which only allows 20 hours of work weekly when school is in session and 40 hours when school is not in session. The permissible 20 hours is the time you dedicate to your teaching or research assistantship role. The only 20-hour jobs they can take on for people not funded have to be on campus. People working extra hours are doing so illegally.
There seem to be more PhD funding than master’s in the US.
Yes, PhD programs have better funding than masters in the US, but it is not impossible to get funded for master’s programs.
However, it is easier to get a fully funded PhD. Most schools that offer fully funded masters here are probably schools that do not offer PhD programs. So funding is readily available for master’s programs, or it could be that the school has significant financial backing such that there is much money left after funding PhD students, or a student gets directly taken into a professor’s research lab.
What happens when a PhD student decides he or she no longer wants to proceed with it, say, two years into the program?
It is possible to decide not to complete a PhD. In this case, the person is given a terminal master’s degree. I know this happens; I am not sure if the certificate would indicate that it is a terminal master’s degree.
How many hours do you put into your research assistant position for your program weekly?
The number of hours varies a lot. However, graduate students ideally work 20 hours weekly. After hours of coursework, I spend several hours on my computer fulfilling my assistantship duties, and I have done most of my research work from home, at least for the past year. Students whose assistantships entail lab work might be able to quantify hours spent in the lab better. Although we are meant to work 20 hours a week, most students do more because research is demanding.
How culturally diverse are the professors in your University?
The professors in my department are from different races, although we do not have any African professors.
Seeing your faculty’s diversity, do you have challenges understanding their different accents?
Most of my professors have been in the US for a while, so their accent is not strange to me; it is just a few professors I sometimes struggle to understand. Overall, they are easy to comprehend.
Is there a robust Nigerian community around you?
Not exactly, though I have several Nigerian friends, and I live in the same apartment building with some of them. On Sundays, I also interact with a handful of Nigerians and Africans in the Redeemed church I attend.
As an insider, how would you rate the healthcare system in the US?
The healthcare system is quite good, with state-of-the-art facilities, great healthcare professionals and robust treatment options. However, it is very complicated and expensive because the insurance we get from our schools as international students are not the most reliable. Overall, health insurance in the US is complex with high premiums, deductibles (out-of-pocket payments before insurance kicks in), and co-pay, a percentage of enrollees pay asides premiums already paid.
The US has the most expensive healthcare in the world for many reasons, and it is one of the citizens’ leading causes of bankruptcy.
What challenges should YPs plan to relocate brace up for?
The application process would be pretty demanding financially and mentally, but it would be worth it. Contrary to the popular opinion that one can live large on stipends, one must be able to budget well and save because the stipends are not as big as we see. Remember that the stipends are taxed. Your monthly rent takes a good chunk of your money, fuel is costly, and inflation is at its all-time high here. Get ready to be homesick and stressed sometimes; however, build a good network and develop stress-coping mechanisms. Do not forget to go out and have some fun while at it!
Can you share some of your tourist experiences so far in the US?
I have not been out so much, but I have been to Washington, DC, to see the White House and other tourist attractions, such as museums and the Washington Monument. I have also been to New York City, where I visited the famous Times Square and several other tourist attractions. I hope to drive down to Las Vegas one of these days because the state (Nevada) shares a boundary with Utah, and I also intend to go skydiving soon and visit Mexico.
