“I didn’t expect things to be as hard as they were after graduation,” Olawale Olaniyan said quietly. “Maybe if I had someone to guide me early on, I would have prepared better.”
For months after earning his master’s degree from Western Michigan University, Olawale sent out job applications into what felt like a void. He had done everything “right”. First-class honors in statistics from Nigeria, a successful teaching career, national youth service, and a graduate degree in biostatistics. But none of that seemed to matter in the unpredictable job search landscape international students often face in the U.S.
Then a friend forwarded him an email. It was about a program called the Global Talent Accelerator (GTA), led by Global Detroit, and it offered something Olawale hadn’t yet encountered in his journey: support.
“That changed everything,” he said. “I didn’t just get help. I got people who believed in me.”
He joined sessions on Western Michigan’s campus and participated in mock interviews, career readiness workshops, and mentorship circles. But what stood out most wasn’t a tool or tactic; it was the atmosphere.
“There was a moment during one of our sessions,” Olawale recalled, “when a speaker shared her own struggles as a former international student. Suddenly, I didn’t feel alone.”
That feeling only deepened as he was invited to speak on a panel in Muskegon and attend the GTA CEO Summit in Grand Rapids, events that brought visibility, voice, and renewed confidence.
“The most important thing I got from GTA? Support,” Olawale said. “Not just practical support, but emotional support, too. Knowing someone had your back.”
Today, Olawale is preparing to begin a fully funded PhD in Statistics at the University of South Carolina. He hopes to stay in the U.S. for a few years, gain experience, and eventually return to Nigeria to teach and lead. In the meantime, he’s part of a powerful but often overlooked national asset: the international student population that fuels American innovation.
International students make up just 5% of U.S. college enrollment, but they earn more than 50% of advanced STEM degrees. Retaining global graduates like Olawale could help fill projected shortfalls in research, healthcare, and education, and add more than $100 billion to U.S. GDP over the next decade (NFAP & BPC, 2023).
But talent alone isn’t enough. Systems must be built to support it. For Olawale, Global Detroit was that system. It didn’t just connect him to resources; it reminded him of his own worth.
“You can’t do this alone,” he said. “That’s what I learned. Programs like GTA don’t just offer help — they remind you that you belong.”
