Student Spotlight: Noble Udoh

Student Spotlight

Noble Udoh

How and Why He Stays Involved with ACC

Inte view y Ma i a G eene and Alexa Smith

Noble Udoh is a second-year, pre-med international student at Austin Community College. When classes are not in session, you can still most likely find Noble somewhere at one of the ACC campuses. Whether it is being president of Student Government, volunteering at the monthly food distributions, or kicking it with some friends on the field of intramural sporting events.

We caught up with Udoh to learn more about his journey as a Riverbat as well as tips on how to juggle school, work, and extracurriculars all while getting the most out of the college experience.

Fo the video inte view of Udoh, can the QR Code.

Noble Udoh sits with ACCENT to discuss the importance of students being motivated and engaged.

How did you find out about ACC and why did you decide to enroll? So I am from Nigeria, and when I finished secondary school, my mom always wanted me to come here [Texas] for school. I have been to Texas a couple of times to see my mom’s sister but I didn’t know where to go to school besides in Houston. So I was Googling stuff and I found ACC. There were three things about the college that made me want to enroll. One, it was affordable. Two, they had the pre-med track I was looking for. And three, the quality.

With work, classes, and extracurriculars, how did you find your balance between them all? A schedule. I wake up at 5 a.m. every morning and I go to bed at 10 p.m. every night. There are four things that are very important to me: sleep, food, exercise and prayer. Having that set schedule where I do the same thing each morning and before I go to bed; it helps me manage stress and be more focused.

What resources have been the most valuable to you? Scholarships. Why? Because school is expensive. As an international student, I can only work 19 hours a week when school is in session. So scholarships have helped me pay for school and rent. The second resource is food distribution. I go, I volunteer, I get groceries as well. I go home and it saves me so much money.

Why do you think it is important to be connected within a school’s community? You build connections, you make friends and you’re more likely to say “okay school isn’t that bad after all” and I may be struggling in class but I have people to give me advice, give me tips.” and, sometimes, you don’t even need advice you just need people that will listen. So you know that you have those people around you through being involved in school because they understand what you are going through. They are students, as well, so they will understand.

So being more involved in school can help students be more involved in school and finish. I think that is the main thing for me. Sometimes I would think “what would I do if I wasn’t involved in campus?” I probably would be taking classes, going home, and going to sleep. It wouldn’t make sense, I wouldn’t feel good. I wouldn’t feel like I’m being productive.

How do you stay motivated and engaged as a student? The truth is that I don’t stay motivated. There are definitely times that I don’t feel like doing things. I don’t feel like studying. I don’t feel like volunteering, but I just do it. I just do it. It’s not necessarily a thing of motivation because it’s not always there. I mean, you know that there are times that there are things you just don’t want to do. I try to make sure that even if I don’t feel like doing it, at least start small.

Why did you choose your major? When I was ten, my teacher suggested that I read the book “Gifted Hands”. I was fascinated with the story of the successful operation that separated conjoined twins. So I thought “Huh this seems good. This seems like something I’d like to do,” but I wasn’t quite sure because I was ten. When I was 13 my dad passed away from an illness. It was tough at the time and it still is. It didn’t make sense why it happened. I felt like it shouldn’t happen to other people. That is actually what made me decide to stick with the whole thing [medicine]. I always loved biology as well. It seems like something I would love to do long-term. Those were the two main things. Plus, the health care in Nigeria isn’t the best as well. I mean it’s good, but it isn’t the best. I feel like it could be improved. Those are the factors that made me choose medicine.

Do you feel that ACC has prepared you to transfer? Why or why not? Yes. If you were to apply directly to a university for the first year you are required to live on campus for most schools.

“Sometimes, you have to fail at something to know that you need to step up.” - Noble Udoh

Noble Udoh by Alexa Smith

Here at ACC, you can’t live on campus. So I feel like I’ve been able to get used to studying without having to live on campus. I was talking to someone about staying on campus when I transfer [to a university]. He was like “I mean, you’ve gone to ACC for two years you don’t need to stay on campus because you have already developed those habits that you need,” the study habits, learning how to ask questions in class, going to office hours.

How have you learned self-discipline as a student? When I first joined ACC I was a good student but I wasn’t really that disciplined. So there was a class that I didn’t do too well in and I said “this isn’t me, I need to put my head down and even if I don’t feel like doing it I need to just do it,” I used to think that self discipline is “if I feel like doing it, I will do it,” but it’s more like “I don’t feel like doing it but I need to so I have to”. Living on my own, away from my family, and going to school almost everyday, not having anyone to push me, it helped me understand that selfdiscipline is extremely essential.

Where do you see yourself in the future? My goal ultimately with medicine is to establish health care facilities in different places, especially in developing countries. To teach and empower people to make advances in medicine. But also so that the people in that region that can’t afford those services would be able to have access to them. That’s my long term goal.

“If you just come to school, go to class, and go home, I think you are more likely not to enjoy your environment.” - Noble Udoh