It’s a long way from Mauritius to Oregon. Most Oregonians probably have never even heard of Mauritius. But Osman Peermamode left the tiny island off Africa’s southeast coast in 1999 with his sights set on the University of Oregon’s Charles H. Lundquist College of Business. He will graduate June 16 with a master of business administration degree. Peermamode came to the UO after he graduated in computer science and engineering from the University of Mauritius in 1997. He said he wanted to complement his technical background with a business education so he could become "the complete IT consulting solution." Peermamode, a Fulbright scholar, is only the second Mauritian to attend the UO and the first member of his family to move away from the island. And his travels are just beginning. The day after graduating, he boards a plane for the 30-hour flight back to Mauritius, where he will enjoy almost two months of visiting his family, re-acclimating to the tropical climate and strolling beaches he calls "much more beautiful than Hawaii’s." He returns to the United States in August to start a new job with Cisco Systems in San Jose, Calif., the heart of Silicon Valley. In the future, Peermamode hopes to work in Europe and Africa before returning to Mauritius, where his ultimate goal is to work as a private consultant. Peermamode praises the Lundquist College faculty and its strength in finance, which was a key factor in his decision to come to Oregon. But, he notes, "the learning experience doesn’t only happen within the four walls of a classroom." For him, it spans at least three continents.

In 1996, Kathy Bootes’ marriage ended. She lost her house. She developed pneumonia. She was 36 years old, the mother of two teens and struggling through her first year back in school at Lane Community College. She fought through the emotional, physical and financial hardships of that first year to earn her two-year degree from LCC and then transferred to the UO College of Education. Not one to shy from challenges, Bootes wants to work with troubled youth after earning her bachelor of educational studies degree from the University of Oregon this spring. She is set to start the master’s degree program in family and human services this summer. "I’ve had people tell me they don’t know how I handle school with everything else," she says. "But I have always believed that you’ve just got to buckle down and do it if you want to achieve something." The single mother of two teenagers is interning for the Lane County Department of Youth Services, where she coordinates mental health services for 12-17 year-olds in the correctional system. "I knew I wanted to do social service work, and I’ve always enjoyed working with teens," she says. Her own struggles, she feels, enable her to empathize with troubled or disadvantaged youth. While Bootes still struggles with health issues, finances and family problems from her failed marriage, she remains committed to her education and that of her children. "I can’t tell my own kids that education should be such a priority for them and then let them see me give up," she says, adding that she received "tremendous support" from UO faculty. One challenge overcome, Bootes is focused on her next: "Get my master’s degree, land my dream job and see my kids through school."

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