When asked about the events that have brought her to this point in life, Ehri smiled brightly and spoke with great enthusiasm. It is this extraordinary spirit of direction and pride that has carried her from her homeland, Nigeria, to the gates of St. Louis University campus.

Her full name is Erhime T. Oghre Ikanone. Born a U.S. citizen and raised in Nigeria, she has returned to the states in order to complete her course of study. For the past three months, she has been studying toward her chemistry major in the Pre-Med program. This happened through the help of the SLU 2000 program.

When asked about her decision to come to SLU, Ehri responded, “In Nigeria, you’re faced with a situation where you have good schools, but you don’t have good equipment. Everything we were taught, we were taught theoretically. I see SLU as a place where there are open doors, opportunities to have a handle on things, not just theoretically but practically.”

In contrast to SLU, her teachers in Nigeria were generally unhelpful and impersonal.

Obedience was stressed: It was improper for a student to look a professor in the eye. They could not be looked to for help inbetween classes.

“Here, that boundary of restriction is broken. The instructors are more than instructors, they are friends. If you ever have a problem, you can go meet them, and they’ll be more than willing to help you.”

On campus, Ehri is part of the International Student Federation, in the newly formed African subgroup. Also, she works many hours at the front desk in the Busch Memorial Center. She lives on the Classic Living floor of Griesedieck (the 4th floor), which she enjoys greatly.

After college, Ehri plans to be an international medical doctor, utilizing her knowledge from SLU to save people in Africa from dying. She comments that Africa needs people who are more broad-minded and have more experience.

“At first, people didn’t even believe in AIDS,” she said. People who are dying are often taken to “witches and wizards.”

First and foremost, the inspiration that has kept her pushing through this moment is God. She said, “I used to wonder, `God, is it possible you’re making my life?’ But with the time I have spent with Him, I have come to know it is true. I had no sense of direction, but when I met God, things changed. My grades shot up, and I didn’t know how. By the time I was in high school, I was the best science student. It was God. He is the answer to everything.”

Ehri comments that many people say her strong belief is “strange.”

“But I’m not talking based on what someone told me,” she said. “This is something I have experienced.”

For inspiration, Ehri also praises her father and family.

“My father called me eight times a day to make sure that I was okay. He left his business in Nigeria to come all the way here with me.”

Paul St. Pierre, CDA on the Classic Living floor of Griesedieck, comments, “Ehri is a very intelligent person that has made a very difficult switch. She doesn’t just want to move to American culture.”

St. Pierre added, “She adapts our culture to fit her and it makes speaking with her an interesting experience.”

Ehri is present at the BMC front desk on weeknights, for anyone who needs assistance or just looking for an engaging and sincere conversation.