October 6, 2011
For Immediate Release

University Marketing & Communications: Mike Rigert (801) 863-6807
Written by: Jim Rayburn (801) 863-8504

Utah Valley University is offering a week of insight on what it’s like to be a refugee and relocate to a new country from a few who have traveled that challenging path.

From Oct. 10-14, during ‘Outcasts Speak’ week, UVU refugee students Akwasi Frimpong and Claudine Kuradusenge will join Amy Wylie, from Utah Refugee Services, and inspirational speaker and national refugee advocate Luma Mufleh in encouraging students to see the world through the eyes of various refugee “outcasts.”

The week of campus lectures is an extension of UVU’s Freshman Reading Program and this fall’s reading selection “Outcasts United” – a bestselling book by Warren St. John about Mufleh’s rise to an influential coach of a refugee soccer team. However, “Outcasts Speak” is not solely for freshmen and is designed to touch on a social topic that is relevant to the entire university community and many academic disciplines.

“‘Outcasts Speak’ is a wonderful opportunity for our University community to get a glimpse of life through the eyes of those who have faced, and overcome, tremendous challenges, challenges that many of us could not even imagine having to endure,” said Martha Wilson, program coordinator for UVU’s Student Success & Retention Center. “These are speakers that we can admire and learn from, and be challenged to be more supportive and inclusive of our local refugee communities.”

Wylie will be the week’s first speaker and will talk on refugee insights on Oct. 10 at noon in the Losee Center for Student Success atrium. Kuradusenge, a junior from Rwanda majoring in communications, will speak on Oct. 11 at 12:30 p.m. in the Ragan Theater in the Sorensen Student Center. Frimpong, a senior majoring in business management, will talk Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. in the Ragan Theater. A UVU sprinter and Olympic hopeful, Frimpong was born in Ghana but raised in the Netherlands.

“I will share with the audience my secrets to success, which are the principles I learned as a little outcast kid to survive, to come out of my comfort zone and to overcome trials,” Frimpong said.

The Freshman Reading Program introduces new students to common academic and intellectual experiences, and helps them become more comfortable with the UVU community. Those participating in the program joined UVU President Matthew S. Holland in August for a discussion on “Outcasts United.”

The week will conclude with Mufleh’s keynote address about her story in “Outcasts United” on Oct. 13 at noon in the Grande Ballroom of UVU’s Sorensen Student Center. She is the founder and director of Fugees Family, Inc., a non-profit organization devoted to assisting child survivors of war.

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About UVU

Utah Valley University is located in Orem, Utah, and is home to nearly 33,000 students. UVU began as a vocational school during World War II, and in the seven decades since has evolved into a technical school, community college, state college and, finally, a comprehensive regional teaching university. UVU is one of Utah’s largest institutions of higher learning and offers programs ranging from career training to high-demand master degrees, with emphasis on undergraduate education.

Luma Mufleh