Henry Okwo

Student

“Sometimes parents can’t care for their kids all the time. So it helps when they get a little direction from outside the family.”

Some day the quiet, reassuring presence of Henry Okwo will go a long way towards solving the tensions between nations. He grew up in England, his family is from Nigeria, and he’s seen a good part of the world in his travels. All this experience will be valuable when he enters the profession he’s dreamed about since he was a kid.

“I’d really like to be a diplomat in Europe or the U.S.,” he says. “My uncle is an ambassador from Nigeria, and so I’ve always wanted to be an arbitrator between governments.” Henry is transferring to Berkeley where he will major in International Relations before moving on to law school. But this summer he’s gained valuable experience in the art of diplomacy on the campus of Audubon Junior High School where he’s served in the SMC Summer Internship Program.

As a campus monitor Henry has stepped into the lives of many kids in need of a strong role model. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of the kids on campus and I hope I’ve been an example to some of them,” says Henry. “Kids can go either way at that junior high age,” he adds. “So it’s essential to catch them then and give them some real direction in their lives.”

Henry recalls one young boy in particular. “He was a kid who nobody could control, who was just getting reported to the office every day. So I gave him a little talking to and he really straightened out. Sometimes, just a few of the right words,” says Henry, “are all that they need to hear to help them find their own way.”

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