The Life of Tobi: Your PCC

Hello, y’all!

My name is Tobi Abubakare and I am one of your Pre-College Counselors (PCCs) for this summer. This is my first time participating in this program and my nerves were starting to get to me the closer move-in day came. The last time I felt that way was move-in day of my freshman year. I think what helped me ease into my new environment during that critical orientation week was getting to know more about my RA, D’Lions, and Freshman Fellows. It helped to know that they were there to help me get accustomed Rochester and hopefully get a good experience out of it.

While the Pre-College Programs do not have RAs, D’Lions, or Freshman Fellows, we do have PCCs and Graduate Head Counselors (GHCs), and I’m here to let you know some things about me so you feel a little more at ease at the beginning of your time here.

The first important thing to know is that I am from Houston, Texas, the greatest—I’m sorry, one of the greatest—city in the world. My family and I moved from Lagos, Nigeria, when I was younger and haven’t left since. At Rochester, I still beam with Houston pride, but I have taken on other identities such as researcher, debater, and advocate. I didn’t know these identities existed for me until I really explored what the University had to offer.

I currently work in two research labs on campus, one is in the linguistics department and the other is a genetics lab in the medical center. I didn’t really do or know about research in high school, and when I was given the opportunity to work in the lab, I took it and never looked back.

Being a debater was something I did very little of in high school because of financial issues. Joining the Rochester debate team was a godsend for me because everything was free (as I didn’t need to pay for tournament or travel fees) and all I had to do was debate. Debate has shaped many of my other identities such as advocate because of the experiences and people I have met doing this activity. I just want to make a disclaimer that just because I love debating does not mean I love to argue. I just love to tell people that they are wrong in a peaceful and respectful manner.

So now you know some things about me and now in a couple of days I will get to know some cool things about y’all! I’m excited for Pre-College Programs—are you?