2024 - Meet Grace Sakabunda

Elgin Community College (ECC) international student Grace Sakabunda celebrated her first year in the U.S. this past August. Grace is thousands of miles from her home of Johannesburg, South Africa, to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

“My dream of becoming a doctor started when I was very young,” Sakabunda said. “I have no idea where it came from, but it’s stuck with me. My parents had to spend a lot of money for me to come here and I left everything to do this. Sometimes, it has been hard, but I always remind myself that I’ve come all this way.”

When Sakabunda was researching schools nationwide to consider attending, two things appealed to her that drew her into deciding on ECC. The first was the college’s Top 25 Aspen Award in 2023, and the second was the International Student Homestay Program, which places full-time international students on an F-1 visa with a local host family. The students become a new addition to the family, which helps them learn more about American culture.

“I got paired with an amazing family,” Sakabunda said. “I live with a mom, daughter, and cousin, so at the moment, it’s a girl home, and it’s going really well.”

Along with support from her family and her homestay family, Sakabunda found another family on ECC’s campus: the Black Student Achievers (BSA) student club. She joined during her first semester at ECC and recently became a core member of the group.

“It’s been so fun,” Sakabunda said. “I’ve got to learn more about the African-American students in the school. We also pair with other clubs, so I’ve learned about other cultures from the OLAS club and Asian Filipino Club.” Sakabunda also found a student-worker position in the library, allowing her to further connect with students and staff each day.

Sakabunda’s courageous leap into a new country, culture, and college has shown her she can achieve the goal she set out for herself. As a high school student back home, Sakabunda said her grades were the opposite of what she wanted to be.

“Sometimes I’m shocked to see how well I’m doing here,” Sakabunda said. “I’ve realized in the past I was just lazy. My good grades are because I’ve started putting in the work, and what I did in high school does not define me.”

Sakabunda plans to graduate from ECC in the spring of 2025. She is working on getting ready to apply to transfer, and though a long journey ahead, she’s determined that “Dr. Grace Sakabunda” will come out on the other side.

Learn more about this sweet, passionate individual below.

What’s one thing you do outside of ECC? One thing I love to do is go hiking. There are so many places you can go around here! The cousin who lives with my homestay family will show me different places to go, and we’ll go on road trips. My friend from work also takes me to different places, too. I love hiking because once you get to the peak, it’s so peaceful. I’ll just sit up there for a while and think about my life.

Another thing I like to do is try different foods. I would consider myself a foodie, and what better place to explore than the U.S., where so many different cultures have come? So far, I love trying different Mexican foods, and I’ve recently had seafood gumbo, which I really like. 

Where is your favorite spot on campus? My favorite spot is on the third floor of Building A, where the space chairs are. It’s so quiet and peaceful. When I’m up there, I can see the hospital beds and equipment, which motivates me and tells me I’m in the right spot.

What’s one thing that makes your day? Right now, in college, one thing that makes my day is when I get a good grade after struggling with a certain concept.

What’s your favorite meal to cook or eat out? To eat out? Here is Chick-fil-A. Back home, it’s my mom's cooking. We have a traditional food called pap, similar to American grits. With the pap, you choose any type of meat and vegetable to have with it. We’ll do pap with sausage and collard greens, for example.

Shout out to an ECC staff or peer! My friend who is in BSA with me. She doesn’t know it, but she really helped me adapt when I came here.

For employees, Katherine Fletcher, mathematics unit adjunct faculty; Diana Flahaven, mathematics unit adjunct faculty; Lois Marquardt-Casper, chemistry unit adjunct faculty; Amy Stringwell, international admissions coordinator; Natalie Escobar, manager of global engagement; Lauren Nehlsen, associate dean of recruitment, outreach, and global engagement; Heather Glass, circulation specialist; and Shannon Pohrte, associate dean of the library.