Deborah Abodunrin is a business administration student at the Ross School of Business. Alongside her business studies, Abodunrin has been enrolled in Yoruba since the fall of 2022. She decided to enroll in Yoruba because of her experiences at home.
I started to pick up and understand my parents' conversations in my native tongue. From there, my curiosity grew for the language. Having been surrounded by a large Nigerian community, I had always heard and interacted with the language through song, proverbs, speaking, and more. I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity here at U-M, and immerse myself in such an interesting and detailed language. Additionally, it's a great conversation starter for my people back home!
Abodunrin describes the relaxing and inviting classroom environment that her Yoruba classes offer as enjoyable and educational.
My Yoruba professors have all prioritized establishing a collaborative and engaging atmosphere to learn and apply cultural applications for those who are not Nigerian ethnically. It is a great elective class to take, and very interesting to make connections with the previous background knowledge and culture I have.
