The Spider Speaks Kiswahili

1. Who takes Kiswahili at UR?

Since the Self-Paced Kiswahili course has been instituted, close to twenty students have taken the course. Students’ interests in taking the course are manifold but fall into three main categories:

International Studies majors with an interest in Africa concentration
Students with special interest in linguistic studies or research projects in Africa.
Students interested in learning a non-Indo-European language
Students driven by sheer intellectual curiosity

2. Who took Kiswahili at UR?

Before the launching the Self-Paced program under which (link) Kiswahili and Portuguese are taught, one student who had spent a semester in Tanzania and who had the basics of everyday conversation, took Intermediary Kiswahili as an independent study. Since then, the following students took the course:

Fall 1995 & Spring 1996
- Laly Lichtenfeld (WC '96), a biology major. Prior to taking Kiswahili, she had visited Kenya for two months during which she picked up some conversational bits. It translated in being the stronger of the two in spoken language. At the end of that year, she received a Fullbright scholarship to spend a year in Kenya for biology study.
- Duriechee Lynch, (WC '96). A native of Richmond, Duriechee, whose main contact with the language was through the course and learning aids, had a much stronger control of the mechanics and grammar.
Fall 1996 & Spring 1997
- Ann Boxberger (WC '2000), an International Studies major with an Africa concentration. She is the first freshman to have taken Kiswahili as a freshman. For the year 1998-1999, she will spend one year in Africa, one semester in Kenya, a Kiswahili country, and one semester in Ghana.
- Sallie Hirsch, (WC '97), English major. She took the course as a way to familiarize herself with Africa. After graduation, she was accepted in the Graduate program for Ph. D. studies in Anglophone African literature at Ohio State University, Columbus.
- Deborah Hopper, (WC '98). She chose to study Kiswahili purely for intellectual curiosity. She was one of the students who finished the first year.
- Benjamin Keller, (RC '98), a German and Linguistics major. Bwana Ben as he came to be known to the instructor was a university scholar. He took Kiswahili as part of his training in linguistics. He is the only student so far to have completed both years. He was awarded the Outstanding student (RC) for Foreign languages at graduation. Ben has received several offers for Graduate school and has chosen the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, to do a Ph. D. in German linguistics.
- Katrina Simon, (WC '98). She chose to study Kiswahili purely for intellectual curiosity.
- Jeff Weese, (RC '98). He took Kiswahili purely for intellectual curiosity.
Fall 1997 & Spring 1998
- Avril Baloney (WC '1999), she took Kiswahili out of intellectual curiosity.
- Kat Bulger (WC '1999), International Studies major, she took the course for her interest in Africa concentration.
- Cytena Hubbard (WC '1999), she took Kiswahili out of intellectual curiosity. She completed the first year of the course.
- Mariane Wilson (WC '1999), she took Kiswahili out of intellectual curiosity.

Kiswahili, the Way to a Fullbright or Graduate School !