Interview with Arron Munggela Foma, M.Sc. Student in Medical Immunology

Interviewer (Emmanuel Adutwum): Salam (hello) Arron.

Mr. Aaron Munggela Foma: Hello, Emmanuel.

- How is life so far in Tehran?

- Life here is good, very peaceful and calm, and I am enjoying my stay here, though I’m very busy all the time. I am working on completing my coursework and starting my research which makes me busy most of the time but it is part of a students’ life. So far everything is moving on well as planned.

- Describe your feelings on your first day in Iran.

- It was full of excitements, expectations and surprises as it was the first time I experienced night fall by 5:30 pm. I arrived here on the 1^st of November, 2012. It was winter by then, and the weather was very cold. I do remember shivering a little bit right after I got out of the airplane as it was my first experience. I received a warm welcome from the university representatives at the airport, and I was quickly taken to my dormitory. I tried getting myself familiar with the surrounding neighborhood but I was so tired and returned quickly to my dormitory to have a rest. All in all, it was an awesome experience.  

- Do you miss home?

- Of course, everybody living out of his or her country misses his or her family, and I am no exception.  However, Tehran is now like a second home to me. The people here are so friendly, hospitable and caring, and they’re like a family to me.

- Are you in touch with your family? How do you communicate with them?

- Without a family, man, alone in the world, trembles with the cold. I do contact my family all the time. I communicate with them via phone calls, emails, Skype, and social media. Here at TUMS, we are provided with free internet which makes it a bit easier for me to communicate. There is also Viber which helps me to make free calls using the internet.

- OK. Good! Mmm… Having completed your undergraduate education in your home country, do you see any differences between the educational system at TUMS and your home country?

- There are lots of differences. Here at TUMS, education is more of hands-on training which makes you a professional. There is a one-on-one communication between my lecturers and I, and this facilitates the teaching-learning process. In general, my lecturers are real professionals, and they are committed to making me become not only a professional like them but also an outstanding scientist.

- How have you adapted to your new educational environment?

- Actually, at the beginning, it wasn’t easy but now I have adapted to the system, and the going is smooth.

- What are some of the skills you have acquired as a student and a researcher at TUMS?

- I have gained lots of skills from my education here at TUMS.  Now, I see myself as a professional in Flow Cytometry, Quantitative Real Time PCR, ELISA, DNA and RNA Extraction, Immunohematology, Cell and Tissue Culture Techniques, Protein and Nucleotide Sequencing, SDS Page, Western Blot and many more topics and subjects. In summary, I am ready and experienced enough to work in a hospital setting, medical diagnostic center, a research laboratory or a pharmaceutical industry.

- It seems to me you’re ready to take on greater responsibilities after your graduation. Do you believe the same?

- Of course. A good researcher and a scientist is like an athlete who never gives up until he reaches the finish line. In scientific research however, a diagnostic or prognostic conclusion in one clinical study may serve as a lead or open into another perspective for further research. I am ready to work for the betterment of humanity.

- What was your most challenging role as a staff or a student?

- Presenting immunological updates, which deals with recently published research articles, every Monday at the journal club has been very challenging, as I use only abstracts to decipher the research goals and conclusions. I also summarize and present it to the entire immunology group, that is M.Sc. and Ph.D. students and lecturers, in a comprehensible form in five minutes.

- How do you manage to go through this challenge?

- Any diligent person should have an alternative plan to salvage situations when things don’t fare well, and I am no exception. I try to reduce the number of PowerPoint slides to just five or six maximum, and also incorporate the mechanism of action and observation in just one slide. Effective time management has been my major tool. 

- Tell us about a time when things didn't go the way you wanted, such as a promotion you wanted and didn't get or a project that didn't turn out how you had hoped.

- I have not really had any academic setback but that doesn’t mean my entire stay here has been all glorious.  I don’t dwell on setbacks as I always think positively and try to move on. I am living a happy and comfortable life here, and that is the most important point.

- What do you enjoy most about school and what frustrates you most about it?

- The curriculum and program design, including the lectures, are excellent. Though the numerous administrative protocols and procedures as well as poor time-management sometimes makes you sad, as a student.

- What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

- I hope to continue with my Ph.D. and my dream is to become a full-fledged researcher and scientist. I also intend to impart the skills, knowledge and experience I have gained here to my juniors back in Cameroon. 

- What are your fond memories of holidays or outings?

- I still remember the first time we went to Tochal, on the foothills of Alborz Mountains, and our trip to Yazd and Kerman in the South of Iran. It was in Tochal that I experienced snow fall for the first time. Besides seeing a desert, riding a camel in Kerman was another first experience for me. It was quite a lot of fun!

- What do you like to do for fun?

- I don’t have any particular program for fun, though I try to make my stay here enjoyable and exciting, from my studies at the university to my stay in the dormitory. That notwithstanding, I sometimes enjoy site-seeing, acquainting myself with the rich Iranian culture and the beautiful historical and modern scenarios which Tehran has to offer, such as amusement parks, mountains, museums, cultural festivals and many more.

- Thanks for your time.

- It was a pleasure to share my life’s experiences here with you. Long Live TUMS! Long live the Department of Immunology!