APPLETON, WIS. — Nidal Kram’s journey to Lawrence University is measured in life experiences, not miles from home. And by that standard, it’s unlikely any of her first-year classmates have traveled farther.
Kram
“In many ways, I think I shouldn’t even be alive,” said Kram, one of 386 freshmen Lawrence officials will welcome Wednesday, Sept. 17 for the start of orientation activities before the start of classes a week later. “I think about how fortunate I am and wonder, ‘How did I make it? How did I survive?'”
Kram, the recipient of a prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship, comes to Lawrence from Fridley, Minn., via Dabri, a small village dotted with thatched huts caught in the crossfire of an ongoing civil war between Arab and Christian communities in central Sudan.
As a child, Kram witnessed horrific events. She saw her father and grandfather imprisoned by the government, an aunt shot and killed while she was in her company and an uncle sent into exile. Her year-old brother died without the benefit of any medical attention.
Her formal education, provided by her mother, a teacher in the village of 500 people, ended abruptly after the second grade when her family was forced to flee for their safety to Egypt. With the assistance of a United Nation’s relief organization, Kram, her parents and three siblings eventually were relocated in Minneapolis, where her uncle lived.
“It was very difficult at first,” Kram said of her transition to the United States. “We didn’t know the culture. We couldn’t speak the language. We didn’t understand how the system worked.”
Her perceptions of America were drawn largely from Arab-subtitled movies she had watched while in Egypt, among them “Mrs. Doubtfire.” One notable scene involving Robin Williams and a vacuum cleaner left a particularly sharp impression.
“I was amazed to find out there was a machine that picked up dirt,” said Kram, whose “yard” in Sudan had more chickens in it than grass.
She also was surprised to see other African-American students in her new classroom, but was confused as to why they couldn’t understand her even though they were dark-skinned like her. A year and a half of feeling out of place left Kram longing to return to her native Sudan, until the sympathetic ear of seventh-grade substitute teacher Melissa Crist helped her see the light.
“Third quarter of seventh grade. That’s when my life changed,” Kram said with the certainty of a certified public accountant. “Ms. Crist was the reason I found what I wanted. She listened to me. It was the first time I had a chance to tell things from my perspective.”
An ‘A’ grade on an after-school project she worked on with Ms. Crist — her first A after a string of Fs — instilled an indomitable sense of confidence in Kram.
“I had been so frustrated,” recalled Kram, who will make Lawrence history as the first student of Sudanese descent to attend the college. “But that grade made me feel so good. Suddenly I saw an entirely different world.
“Education became the key to what I could be,” she said of her epiphany. “I didn’t think I could learn English, but I did. I thought I’d never get an A, but I did. I started thinking, what else can I do.”
The answer, she discovered, was whatever she wanted. She graduated near the top of her high school class with a 3.89 grade point average, culminating in her selection as a Gates Scholar, a program established in 2000 by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda to support outstanding students of color.
From her childhood days in Sudan of school lessons conducted outside in the sand with fingers because notebooks and pencils were a luxury, Kram brings a life perspective to Lawrence she’s confident will help her tackle any challenge that lies ahead.
“When things get hard, I think this is nothing compared to where I’ve come from and what I’ve been through,” Kram says without a hint of her one-time East African accent. “I was able to overcome that, so I tell myself I’ll be able to overcome this, too.”
Kram, who says Lawrence was her first choice among eight colleges she applied to, is also part of a Lawrence’s largest-ever applicant pool. For the fourth straight year, Lawrence enjoyed a record-setting number of freshmen applications with 2,618.
While Lawrence maintained its traditional Midwest base, with Wisconsin accounting for slightly more than one-quarter of this year’s 386 freshmen, followed by Illinois (79) and Minnesota (35), the college’s national appeal stretched to both coasts, with New York (18) and California (16) home to the fourth- and fifth-most first-year students. China, surprisingly, tied neighboring Michigan for sixth most, with each sending 11 freshmen to Lawrence this fall.
Collectively, members of this year’s freshmen class represent 31 states, 31 foreign countries as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. That kind of broad geographic draw bodes well for Lawrence’s future according to Director of Admissions Ken Anselment.
“Over the next several years, the United States will see a demographic shift that will result in a significant decline in the college-bound population, particularly here in the upper Midwest,” said Anselment. “With Lawrence’s national and international student base, we’re in a good position to build on our successes.”
This year’s incoming class not only set application records, but is challenging Lawrence’s best-ever academic profile as well. The incoming freshmen boast an average 3.67 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, up from 3.60 a year ago, while nearly a quarter — 23.5 percent — of the incoming freshmen from ranking high schools come from the top five percent of their graduating classes, including 20 valedictorians, double the number from 2007. The average ACT score of 29.1 is the highest in the college’s history. In 2006, Lawrence adopted a test-optional admissions policy and 73 percent of this year’s incoming freshmen submitted a standardized test score as part of their application.
“Lawrence isn’t just on the map, it’s increasingly becoming a destination for top-notch students from all over the country,” said Anselment. “We’re thrilled about the intellectual and cultural diversity, as well as the unprecedented quality of this year’s incoming class.”
More than 90 percent of this year’s freshmen received financial assistance from Lawrence. The average need-based financial aid package exceeded $26,600.
