NC State’s Multicultural Student Affairs strives to create a welcoming and open space that helps all students learn and grow as culturally aware leaders in their communities. It also helps students learn more about themselves and their peers. 

One of the best ways for students to develop their skill sets is to participate in international travel or study abroad opportunities that allow them to immerse themselves in different cultures. Recently, Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) helped two students to do exactly that. The MSA Student Support Fund provided funding for Jaida Ellis and April Aguila to embark on a study abroad experience in Gambia in December 2025. 

“The MSA Student Support Fund is an opportunity for members of our campus community, folks who are connected to the university to really support students through experiential opportunities,” said Jameco McKenzie, MSA’s director. 

An Immersive Experience

Both Ellis, a second-year graduate student in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ (CHASS) Social Work program, and Aguila, a fourth-year student majoring in International Studies and Spanish, connected to the trip through Haddy Njie, a CHASS associate teaching professor. 

Ellis had previously gone on a trip to Gambia and Senegal led by Njie in May of 2025, and was eager to return. 

“The objectives of the trip aligned with what I wanted to do with deepening my cross-cultural understanding and deepening my cultural humility,” Ellis said. 

“Their participation in the trip was quite valuable.”

The trip was led by Gambian Girl Power, a non-profit founded by Njie, who is a native of Gambia. It featured the organization’s seventh annual career weekend, an opportunity for students from community schools throughout the country to participate in different workshops and learn various skills that will help them in their future career paths. 

“Their participation in the trip was quite valuable,” Njie said. “They added a lot of depth, passion, knowledge and excitement to the whole entire experience.”

Ellis’ presentation centered on resilience. It drew on a social-work theory that uses a strength-based approach and reminded the students of the support they can draw on from their communities when they encounter challenges. 

“It was really rewarding,” Ellis said. “I think it’s really nice when you can apply what you’re learning in the classroom, as well as what you’ve written 20-page papers on, in a real-world context. With what I want to do and my goal of becoming a global citizen, I feel that education should be accessible to everyone. Everyone should be able to believe in themselves and their own capabilities. It was very meaningful to me, especially when I think about what it means to be a social worker and the type of social worker I want to be.” 

Aguila presented on the importance of students being open to advice and guidance from trusted mentors on the difficulties they face during their educational journeys. 

Both students presented about their experiences and what they learned upon returning to NC State, with Njie noting that “the benefits of their participation went both ways in thinking about what they took to Gambia, but also what they brought back to the United States.”

“I think it was just as enriching to learn from them as it was to help them,” Aguila said. “I wanted to support them in the ways I know how. I think on that trip, I was supported by them, and I was given experiences I would never have had myself. I think it was a give and take. I feel enriched, but not only because I was there working for them. They helped me just as much.” 

Support from MSA 

Both Ellis and Aguila have carved out key roles on the MSA team, with Ellis serving as a Master of Social Work intern and leading the center’s peer mentor program alongside MSA Assistant Director Gavin Bell. 

Aguila works as a student program assistant, staffing MSA’s front desk, answering questions and hand-designing drawings for the MSA whiteboard outside the center in Talley Student Union. 

“Jaida and April are superstar student leaders on our team,” McKenzie said. “Having both of them be a part of our team and also applying for the Student Support Fund is a no-brainer, because I know that they gain so much from being in the center and being able to help folks.” 

“I’ve never had a job where they were so supportive of what I want to do and what I want to learn.”

MSA’s student support fund is designed to help students have these formative experiences, and the fund was essential for both Ellis and Aguila to have the opportunity to travel to Gambia. 

“I’ve never had a job where they were so supportive of what I want to do and what I want to learn,” Aguila said. “I don’t think there are many positions that would do this. It’s something that I hold really dear, and it’s something that I really appreciate. I would not have been able to travel to either place without it.” 

Aguila noted that the fund also helped her travel to Spain to study abroad last summer, an essential part of her double major in International Studies and Spanish. 

McKenzie noted that experiences, such as the trip to Gambia, fall directly in line with MSA’s goal of creating culturally aware leaders, allowing students to experience different cultures firsthand and bring lessons and values back to their college journeys at NC State. 

“I think it’s essential,” McKenzie said. “It allows students to broaden their horizons and see things from multiple perspectives. I think all students can benefit from experiential learning, from study abroad experiences and from being in a different environment and culture. They get a chance to talk with people who have different ways of living, and really sit with themselves and think about what they believe, how they believe, how that shows up differently for other people. It creates an opportunity to have a different lens and sharpen your toolkit in that area.” 

Make Your Mark 

The theme for this year’s NC State Day of Giving, set for March 25, is “Make Your Mark.” 

Supporting the MSA Student Support Fund gives students the chance to make their mark in different locations, demonstrating MSA’s ability to teach all students to be culturally aware leaders.

“It’s essential,” McKenzie said. “We want our students to be able to experience things beyond the classroom and beyond our center. Being able to have funding from our Student Support Fund and from all of our donors is really essential to making that dream a reality.”

For students such as Ellis and Aguila, who are looking forward to careers in social work, humanitarian work and education, these experiences are critical to preparing them for the next step in their careers. 

“I definitely think about MSA’s value of holistic well-being in students, but then also the professional development aspect that goes into that. As well as what it means to be multicultural because everyone has culture,” Ellis said. “We even have the idea of each one, teach one. Anybody can teach anybody, and anybody can be a student to anyone else. So the very concept of being a lifetime learner, I think being able to study abroad definitely helps with that.”