Kenyan In The U.S Awarded 2017 Bush Fellowship For Supporting Immigrants

A state health employee living in the US but from Kenya and the principal of Standing Rock Middle School have been awarded the 2017 Bush Fellowship grant.Alice Musumba, who works for the state Department of Health, got the grant of over $100,000 from her passion of helping immigrants thrive in Bismarck.Principal Tomi Phillips, of Fort Yates, who has been the principal at Standing Rock Middle School for 10 years, was also selected for the grant for her goals that aim to inspire positive changes in tribal education, encourage more Native people to become teachers and deepen the pool of non-Native teachers who are in tune with the relational way Native children see the world.The two are among 24 other leaders chosen for their records of achievement and their extraordinary potential to make significant contributions in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.The Bush Fellowship provides people with up to $100,000 over 12 to 24 months to pursue learning experiences that help them develop leadership skills and attributes.Musumba is the program director for the North Dakota Department of Health's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. She moved to Texas from Kenya to be with her husband, Tony in 2003.“I came in as an immigrant who didn’t just land in a vacuum. I had a support system that helped me integrate into a life in the U.S., yet at the same time allowing me to remain the immigrant that I was,” Musumba said.She plans to use her fellowship grant to look at the inner workings of immigrant groups nationwide that aim to promote integration and community involvement. Musumba said her goal is to help immigrants see themselves as contributing members of a society, not as outsiders."Because that’s how I see myself: I see myself as a North Dakotan, yeah, with a different accent, but a North Dakotan, nonetheless," said Musumba, who is an American citizen along with her husband, Tony, and two children, Theodora, 10, and Terry, 7.“The whole sense of community might be a little difficult to find here if you don’t know where to look for it.”