By Caleb Wall
Dr. Juliet Evusa has led a life more colorful and interesting than most. As she grew up in the cosmopolitan area of Nairobi, Kenya, Juliet Evusa witnessed firsthand the social inequalities that Kenyan women are forced to endure. It was because of these inequalities that Evusa’s mother encouraged her to seek higher education. After graduating from a Catholic boarding high school in Kenya, Evusa attained her undergraduate’s degree in Berodi, India.
When deciding to pursue her postgraduate degree and career, Evusa decided to focus on helping the underprivileged women she credits for making her education a priority in the first place. It was with this goal in mind that Evusa dedicated her postgraduate studies to women’s studies and communications in the United States. After receiving her doctoral degree from Ohio University in 2005, Evusa would decide to make her home in Claremore teaching at Rogers State University.
Evusa’s experiences as at educator didn’t begin at RSU. After graduating high school and before pursuing her undergraduate degree, Evusa taught at a high school in Kenya. Her interactions with the students there would inspire her to choose education as her career. In particular, she wants to help encourage younger generations of females in pursuing college educations. Currently, Evusa and her husband have an organization that helps sponsor young girls who are seeking an education; her long term goal is to help set up a school in Kenya dedicated to educating women.
Although Evusa enjoys living in America, there are many things about Kenya that she misses.
“I miss the food; real food, organic food. Growing up, cooking was time consuming. You had to go to the garden, pick the vegetables, and cook it from scratch. I miss that food that has been prepared from scratch. I miss the weather also. Its beautiful there, its not too hot. I had never seen someone water their plants before I came here. I miss the smell of the soil when it rains; it rains a lot in Kenya. And of course I miss my family. There’s a lot that I don’t miss too, and that explains why I love America. I don’t miss its treatment of women. There’s a lot changing, though, and I hope to be a part of that change,” Evusa says.
The protests that have currently been sweeping across Africa and the Middle East are of great interest to Evusa; while she is concerned about the possibilities of Sharia law taking effect, she is very encouraged to see people in the streets protesting the totalitarian states and dictatorships. She has also been using these protests as examples in her communication classes.
“Usually when I teach my classes, the students are forced to be up to date with what’s happening in the media. That gives me a chance to emphasize on a lot of theories. We are talking about how social networking sites affected the reforms that are taking place in Egypt,” Evusa explains.
With her expansive knowledge and unique background, Dr. Evusa is a brilliant and important member of the RSU faculty. She stands not only as an inspiration and role model to the women in Africa she has dedicated her life to helping, but also to all the students that attend her classes here at RSU.
Well done