From Lost Boy to Pickering Fellow Diplomat: The Journey of Gai Nyok
by Lauren McClellan
Imagine being 7 years old. You have been walking for months, traveling from country to country. Tired and hungry, you cannot stop or you risk being caught. You are escaping from your war-torn home to seek refuge. You will not reach your destination until you have walked more than 500 miles. Even then, you still might be forced to move to another place of refuge. Children your age from all over the world are attending school, watching TV, spending quality time with their family and playing with their friends. You cannot do any of that because you are running for your life.
This was the experience of Gai Nyok, 26, a former Lost Boy of Sudan. This class of 2010 Virginia Commonwealth University alumnus’ life took a dramatic turn after coming to the United States. Now, he is a Pickering Fellow, training to be a United States diplomat. Nyok’s compelling life experiences instilled in him an intense interest and talent in international affairs. With his Pickering Fellowship, he will be a United States Foreign Service Officer after he graduates from the University of Illinois with a master’s of science in policy economics.
Nyok and approximately 20,000 other Lost Boys escaped war in Sudan, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles to other African countries. These Lost Boys were young refugees who were displaced after the Second Sudanese Civil War. He traveled with his family to multiple countries, constantly seeking refuge, not knowing where he might end up or where he would eventually settle.
Before his journey in Africa, Nyok lived with his parents and siblings in southern Sudan, which is known today as the Republic of South Sudan. There, he learned skills that he thought he would use for the rest of his life.
“In Sudan, my parents were farmers. Like everyone else in rural parts of South Sudan, they farmed and kept livestock,” Nyok said. “I was still very young at that time, but all boys were raised to eventually look after the family’s livestock. Going to school was not an option, especially for those of us who were born and raised in the countryside.”
In the 1980s, Nyok’s life changed dramatically when the Second Sudanese War started.
“Lives were changed forever,” Nyok said. “Towns and villages were burned down. This is the situation I and some of the other Lost Boys found themselves in the late 1980s and early 1990s.”
The Second Sudanese War broke out in 1983. During this war that lasted from 1983 to 2005, the government and marginalized citizens fought over resources, domination and religious matters. In some ways, it was a continuation of the differences between the northern and southern regions of Sudan, with the south wanting more autonomy.
Nyok described the entirety of the area as a “warzone.” In 1987, when Nyok was only a baby, he fled from Sudan with his family to Ethiopia.
Nyok and his family did not find solace that they were looking for in Ethiopia, however. Ethiopia was going through its own civil war and identity crisis. The people of the northern area of Ethiopia—which is now Eritrea—were fighting the south for independence. This war lasted from 1974-1991, with most of the violence happening in the last year of the war when the Ethiopian government was overthrown.
When civil war grew worse in Ethiopia, Nyok was displaced yet again. With his family, he fled back to Sudan in 1992.
Sudan still at this point was not a safe place for Nyok and his family. Nyok was not in Sudan for a year before he was on the road again, escaping the war torn country.
“In Sudan, I didn’t feel like we would be stuck,” Nyok said. “We were just focused on surviving and moving from safe zone to safe zone, avoiding bombardments and shelling of towns and villages by the government soldiers.”
Though Nyok was young and on the run from Sudan, he still felt fortunate that he had a support system that many other Lost Boys lacked.
“I was young indeed, but I was one of the lucky few because I had my brother and other relatives that looked after me,” Nyok said. “Most of the other 20,000 or so boys had escaped their homes without anyone to look after them.”
With his family, Nyok trekked on to Uganda and Kenya. In Kenya, Nyok settled at Kakuma, a refugee camp that housed around 100,000 refugees. There, residents were given miniscule food rations. When their rations ran out, the residents would have to wait on another food delivery before they could eat again. That sometimes took two to three days.
While in Kakuma, Nyok also was given an education through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Nyok spent his days at the Kenyan refugee camp playing soccer and going to school. Some of the more fortunate refugees took teacher training courses and taught lower level students. For Nyok’s classes, he did not have a desk to sit in while he did his schoolwork. Instead, he took his classes outside, sitting under trees.
“Luckily it worked alright because northern Kenya is pretty dry and arid, and as a result, rain didn’t interrupt our classes much!” Nyok said.
Nyok enjoyed his classes while he was in Kenya, as it made a lasting impression on him.
“This education is the foundation for the life which I am now trying to build,” Nyok said.
However, Nyok and many of the other refugees felt like they could not quite call Kenya their new home.
“We were stuck in the sense that war still raged in Sudan, and there were no opportunities for us in Kenya—we were just refugees,” Nyok said.
When Nyok was young, he was presented with an opportunity to leave Africa and come to the United States. The asylum process for the Lost Boys of Sudan started in 1999. To Nyok, it was a long wait.
“The process did drag on,” Nyok said. “We were interviewed about our story and the reasons for seeking resettlement.”
Nyok, other Lost Boys and refugees saw the asylum process as a means to redemption; it was an opportunity for them to have a better, safer life.
After long interviews with the International Organization for Migration, U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, Nyok was granted asylum and came to the United States in 2001. Nyok would be interviewed by diplomats again a little over a decade later for a completely different reason— to become one of them.
Nyok had to part ways with some of his family when he left for the United States.
“One of my biological sisters lives in Erie, Penn., whereas the other lives with my mother in Uganda, still seeking refuge,” Nyok said. “War has ended in Sudan, but it’s still not entirely safe, insecurity is high. The country is still being put together after decades and decades of destructive civil war. My father passed away around 1989.”
While he was upset that he would be away from some of his family, he knew that this new chapter in his life would grant him new opportunities.
“It was tough leaving everyone behind, but given the war in Sudan and its severity, we knew that coming to the U.S was the best thing for us,” Nyok said. “All the Lost Boys wanted stability in their lives and to able to go to school and build their future.”
Nyok and his brother Abraham’s arrival to the United States came shortly after another violent historical event. Nyok landed in New York around two weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. If he had been scheduled to come just a few weeks before, his flight could have been diverted to Canada.
Nyok settled in with a family from Ashland. He started high school and his world changed for the better. Finally, he experienced stability. He was not running from a war torn country now; he was living life as an American teenager. A new challenge presented itself to Nyok, however; people were having a hard time understanding his accent.
“My accent was terrible, especially in school,” Nyok said. “But I made friends very easily, especially since I was also on the travel soccer team as well as my high school’s team. I remember having to repeat or spell out almost every other word I was speaking! But it was all fun in the end! It wasn’t an overly rough transition.”
After graduating early from high school with a 4.0 GPA, another challenge presented itself to Nyok. This challenge would not be as dangerous as traveling across Africa as a child, however. It was something many of American teenagers do. This time, Nyok would be attending college at VCU.
Nyok’s academic success did not stop in high school. In college, he involved himself with international affairs. He studied economics, international relations and French, studying abroad for one semester in Nantes. His personal experiences with being a Sudanese Lost Boy piqued his academic curiosity. He wanted to learn more about international relations on a more global scale.
“Being a refugee all my life, in Ethiopia and Kenya under the aegis of the UN, I grew up in an environment where international affairs and the overall interaction of countries on a regional or global scale was appreciated and seen as important,” Nyok said. “At the refugee camp in Kenya, there were other refugees from neighboring countries, such as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. So it was always fascinating learning about the issues or civil conflicts that these other countries had.”
Nyok continued to stay up-to-date with Sudanese conflicts and other global conflicts at a time when similar civil wars were happening all over the world. He was given the opportunity to present that research at the VCU School of World Studies Annual Research Conference.
Nyok involved himself in extracurricular activities because of his interest in international affairs. He also found ways to strengthen his leadership skills as the president of the African Student Union. There, he used this platform to organize debates with scholars and the community about important international issues. His hard work was recognized when he was awarded the Black History in the Making award by the School of World Studies in conjunction with the Department of African American Studies during Black History Month.
In 2010, Nyok graduated cum laude from VCU. Soon after, he found a job at BrownGreer PLC, a large Richmond-based law firm, analyzing damage claims. There, he found another unique opportunity to involve himself with foreign affairs.
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. For 87 days, oil gushed out of the ocean floor, causing the largest oil spill in history. The issue affected the livelihood of the people who relied on the Gulf of Mexico for their jobs. Mexican and American industries that were dependent on the gulf, such as fishing and tourism, took a nosedive. The spill also affected the environment, damaging the habitats of the wildlife native to the region.
At BrownGreer PLC, Nyok analyzed claims for the oil spill. He would craft reports justifying monetary compensation to people who were affected by the spill by looking at financial and medical records.
Nyok also worked at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy after graduation where he was a faculty assistant. Nyok’s former supervisor Scott Crenshaw thought highly of his work ethic.
“Gai never complained, was never late, he was only sick one time,” Crenshaw said. “He was respectful and professional in all of the things he did. Gai was humble and appreciative. You could see in his smile he felt fortunate and thankful for being in the USA and for the opportunities given to him.”
Other coworkers, such as Cynthia McMullen, thought highly of Nyok as well.
“Gai was so well-liked by his co-workers here that even though his going-away party was on a Thursday afternoon — in midsummer while school was out and many folks were on vacation — at least 40 faculty, staff and students showed up to bid him farewell!” McMullen said.
Nyok made a strong impression on the administrative staff, too. Associate dean of student affairs for the Medical College of Virginia campus Dr. Napoleon Peoples—Nyok’s mentor, as he calls him—believed Nyok’s experiences as a refugee helped to shape his future.
“I think his early experiences as a Lost Boy may have contributed to making him who he is today,” Peoples said. “He is a very motivated person who interacts well with others. He is also a clear thinker who has strong analytical and communication skills. I believe these attributes will be of great value to him in his occupational pursuits.”
Nyok continued to search for opportunities that would allow him to become involved in foreign affairs. In his search, he found the Pickering Fellowship.
The Pickering Fellowship is awarded by the U.S. State Department in conjunction with the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (WWNFF). This program trains winners to become Foreign Service Officers. Applicants must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.2 with relevant academic experience in international affairs, political science, economic analysis, administration, managements or science to be chosen.
The students who apply for the Pickering Fellowship have to be good representatives of the United States, demonstrate an understanding of foreign affairs and show a strong interest in pursuing a career in Foreign Service with the State Department if they are to be chosen for the fellowship. The Pickering awards fellows $40,000 annually for tuition and fees, room and board, books and some traveling costs.
While applying for the Pickering Fellowship, Nyok found that he was specially qualified. His experiences traveling in Africa seeking refuge as a young boy gave him a view of the world that no other applicant possessed.
“I think my perspective of the world has been shaped in many ways by my experience as a former refugee,” Nyok said. “It’s a journey which has opened my mind tremendously. It has made me aware of the potential and the role that we can play as individuals to better shape our communities but also the world as a whole.”
Pickering Fellows tend to come from big name schools, such as Georgetown, Yale, Berkeley and Princeton. When finalists are chosen, they travel to D.C. for an interview and a written test.
Years earlier, almost in a past life, Nyok had to trek across Africa to escape war in Sudan. When he got the news he was a finalist, he had to make another trek to D.C. for that big interview.
The deja-vu did not stop there for Nyok. Just 12 years earlier, he was being interviewed by a group of diplomats to determine whether or not he should be granted asylum. Now, he was being interviewed by another group of diplomats to determine whether or not he can one day join their ranks.
Nyok did not feel that nervous when he was filling out the application for the Pickering Fellowship. When he was traveling to the interview, he felt a bit differently.
“Well, I was nervous driving to D.C for the interview,” Nyok said. “There were so many things in my mind, what it would mean to receive such a prestigious award—and how I could potentially throw all that away at the interview. And unfortunately, I am not known to be the biggest optimist, so you can imagine what was going on in my mind. It was overwhelming!”
That first interview all those years ago in Africa with the first group of diplomats went well; Nyok was granted asylum and was given a chance at a new life in the United States. After his interview for the Pickering Fellowship, he tried his best not to think about whether or not he would be selected.
Three days later, Nyok received the news; the second interview went as well as the first as Nyok was selected to be a part of the 17th cohort of the Graduate Pickering Fellows. When he learned that he received the fellowship, he was shocked.
“At first, I couldn’t believe it. It was surreal!” Nyok said.
In a way, Nyok’s entire journey has been surreal. In his early years, he was living in a war torn country, escaped capture and probable death, but struggled to find refuge until he came to the United States in 2001. Then, he became an American teenager, attending high school and then college as a young adult. Now, he is on his way to become one of the people that opened so many life changing opportunities for him years ago: a United States diplomat.
Nyok’s experience in Sudan is the driving force behind him now, pushing him to become a U.S. diplomat.
“This philosophy is the impetus behind my embarking on the path to become a diplomat because I feel that I can make an influence and real change not only in the lives of others, but also to effect such change at a policy level, Nyok said. “As a consequence I am more appreciative—and therefore make better use—of the opportunities afforded me.”
Nyok is currently studying policy economics in a master’s program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He will be there for two years to complete his Pickering requirement. After his program is over, and he receives his masters of science in policy economics, he will be an Economic Officer for the U.S. Foreign Service as guaranteed to him by his fellowship. He is interested in serving in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. For the fellowship’s abroad service requirement, Nyok would like to investigate opportunities for American investment by traveling to sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil.
Nyok has not been back to Sudan since 1995. “I still can’t believe it has been that long!” Nyok said.
Nyok has not seen some of his family members, such as his older sister, for 20 years. While his life has changed, hers has too. “She has teenage kids now!” Nyok said.
Nyok keeps in contact with his mother, sister, some close friends and other relatives by phone. Some of his relatives have also been resettled here in the United States with around 3,000 other Lost Boys. After Nyok finishes his master’s program, he would like to travel back to Sudan to visit the war torn home he had to run from so many years ago.
Categories NSO Student Features