Yasin Kiraga Misago is an International student from Burundi who came to UBC through the WUSC Student Refugee Program. While living as a refugee in Malawi, he was selected as one of six students to be sponsored to study at a Canadian university from a group of over 300 students who applied to this program. He has also been involved with the Canadian Red Cross Society in Richmond to share his experience as a refugee to bring awareness and help inspire change. One of Yasin’s most admirable traits is his desire and commitment to give back and serve communities. He hopes to pursue a career in international law to address human rights issues.
Yasin chose to follow his passion with the goal of becoming a diplomat and to create positive change socially, economically, and politically. He also wants his BA to be the foundation for a law degree in the future. Eventually, he wants to be a great politician creating change.
In his years at UBC, Yasin was heavily involved in extra-curricular activities. He was a member of the Africa Awareness Initiative, a member of World University Service of Canada, an active member of Stand UBC, a panelist with Minister Mobina Jaffer on refugee issues. On top of all this, Yasin was a broadcaster UBC’s CITR radio station, hosting a program called “Sounds of Africa” where he was an investigative journalist, interviewer, and raised funds for CITR.
Yasin recommends UBC to anyone, calling it simply, “the best” and that the UBC faculty keep everything fresh with updated books, new materials, and their understanding of current issues. He had a very smooth transition to university life and fondly remembers the Jump Start orientation, the welcoming staff, and friendly students. His advice to future students: “Adaptation is key.” Yasin recommends listening to others on campus in order to make this adaptation possible, be it his peers or advisors.
Yasin’s most memorable moment at UBC was his graduation day but he misses every moment he spent with profs and friends, the political discussions, the Alma mater Society, and his spot in The Irving K. Barber Learning Center. For fun, Yasin plays sports, games, watches movies and jokes with his friends. Perseverance and patience make him smile because it results in something positive — an outlook shared by many students of a school that encourages positive change.
