Okigbo leaves U.S. behind

May 22, 2009 • written by Halimo Abdulkarim, 08-09 Feature Editor  
Filed under Feature

Moving to a new city or even state is hard to adapt to. A couple months ago, junior Kene Okigbo found out that not only is he moving to a new city, but a whole new continent. Okigo thinks everything is very surreal.

“It doesn’t really seem like I’m moving,” Okigbo said. “Last year my parents wanted me to go to Nigeria for school, but it didn’t work out.”

Okigbo is planning on moving to Nairobi, Kenya this summer and will be attending Rosslyn Academy for his senior year. He had mixed feelings about the move when he found out.

“I was sad, mad and mostly surprised,” Okigbo said.

Though he is sad he is moving to Kenya, it’s not the first time he has been there. Okigbo and his family were there on a vacation in Nairobi, Kenya in the summer of 2003. A main reason why he is moving to Kenya is because his father got a job as the Head of Communication Department in Nairobi, Kenya.

Okigbo has lived in the US for 11 years. He was born in Nigeria and moved to Kenya at a young age.

Junior Lucas Mitzel, a friend of Okigbo’s since elementary school, is truly going to miss him.

“I was really surprised,” Mitzel said. “I think everybody is going to miss him a lot.”

Mitzel knew that there was a possibility that Okigbo was going to move, but it wasn’t official until this year.

“I found out when he first found out that it was final,” Mitzel said.

Mitzel thinks that Okigbo just has a way with people and that he is going to be missed.

“He just always has a way to make everyone laugh,” Mitzel said. “He is a really fun guy to be around; we are all going to miss him greatly.”

Junior Aaron Watne also a close friend of Okigbo since eighth grade explains his shock when he found out that Okigbo is going to be moving.

“I found out a couple months ago near the beginning of the school year,” Watne said. “I was surprised.”

Watne would like Okigbo to know his appreciation for their years of friendship.

“He is one of the nicest guys I have ever met,” Watne said. “And I feel that everyone should have a friend like him.”