Senior Ohemaah Ntiamoah says one of the things she most appreciates about LMU is its eagerness to showcase and embrace different cultures. “LMU is a living, breathing melting pot,” she says.

A native of Ghana who spent part of her childhood in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada before settling in Arizona to as a teen, Ntiamoah understands the importance of making a smooth transition to college life, particularly as an international student. To help future LMU students around the world prepare for life in L.A., Ntiamoah serves as an iMentor.

The iMentor program, sponsored by the Office of International Student Services, is designed to help incoming international students prepare for their college experience. Each iMentor is assigned one, sometimes two, iMentees at the beginning of the summer, whom they connect with via email, develop a rapport and answer any questions as they prepare for the big move.

“The iMentors serve as a personal long-distance mentor and first friend to help the mentees feel at home at LMU even before they get here,” says Ntiamoah, who is majoring in business administration with an emphasis in management and human resources. She had two iMentees over the summer, one from France and one from India, with whom she communicated almost every day. The three met in person at fall orientation.

“When I finally met Eleonor and Pratik, I was thrilled and excited that I would have a whole year to get to know such wonderful people,” she says. “It's been great so far, and they've really added to my experience here as a senior at LMU.”

Ntiamoah has also worked as a peer tutor and is part of the University Honors Program. Among other campus activities, she is the co-founder of the Melkam-Akwaaba African Club and co-founder and choreographer for the African Queens dance group.

Of her own experience as an LMU student, Ntiamoah says she appreciates the intellectual challenge the Honors Program has given her and feels honored to have been taught by “some of the nicest and most helpful” professors. “I appreciate their genuine interest in my education and in my future,” she says.