Temiloluwa "Temi" Kayode-Ojo, an international student who recently earned her bachelor's degree at UW-Oshkosh, created opportunities for belonging by getting involved and meeting people.

When Temiloluwa "Temi" Kayode-Ojo first arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh from Lagos, Nigeria, she thought she knew what college would look like.

She would study computer science. She would go to class. She would earn her degree. Maybe, eventually, she would transfer to another Universities of Wisconsin campus.

At first, her world was small.

Taylor Hall to class. Class back to Taylor. Meals at Blackhawk Commons. Long FaceTime calls with friends back home.

She was in a new country, on a new campus, trying to make sense of a new life. Like many international students, Temi was not only adjusting to college. She was adjusting to a new country, a new climate, a new culture and a new understanding of what home could look like.

She was homesick. She was cold. Her first Wisconsin winter made her wonder if she had made the right choice.

"I was alive, but I wasn't living," she said.

After four years, Temi flourished from the student who began at UWO, quietly tried to get through each day.

She graduated as a student leader, an international student mentor, a campus tour guide, a researcher and the founder of multiple student organizations at UWO.

More than anything, she is someone who turned her own search for belonging into opportunities for others to feel at home.

"I've come to realize that I'm the kind of person where if there's no space for me, I create that space," Temi said.

Finding her place

Temi came to UWO after applying to several Universities of Wisconsin schools. Oshkosh stood out to her online, and once she arrived, the size of campus became one of the reasons she stayed.

What first felt small eventually became one of UWO's greatest strengths for Temi. She could get to class quickly, know her professors and begin to recognize familiar faces across campus. For a student who had moved across the world, that sense of closeness mattered.

But feeling comfortable on campus took time.

As a first year computer science major, Temi often found herself as the only Black student and the only woman in her classes. It was isolating. She liked programming, but she began to realize she did not want to spend every day in a field that did not fully fit who she was becoming.

Eventually, she changed her major to interactive web management, a program that gave her pieces of everything she enjoyed: coding, journalism, marketing and digital communication.

She also added minors in African American studies and social justice, along with certificates in digital marketing, social media and website development.

"I'm a busy girl," she said with a laugh, late last semester.

But the academic shift was only part of her growth.

What helped her stay was not one single moment. It was the slow discovery that there were people, programs and communities at UWO that could help her feel less alone.

The club that changed everything

Temi tells new students the same thing whenever she gives campus tours or talks with international students: go to the club meetings.

That advice comes from experience.

She tried different organizations before finding the ones that felt right. She joined choir after a friend heard her singing while volunteering. She connected with the African American Studies Club, which introduced her to the African American studies minor and to faculty who helped her feel seen.

In those classes, Temi found conversations that mattered to her. She met students from different backgrounds and connected with Dr. Alphonso Simpson, chair of the African American Studies program, whose interest in Africa, Nigeria and her perspective helped her feel valued.

"That just made me feel seen," she said.

The African American Studies Club became one of the first places Temi stayed involved consistently. It helped her build confidence, present research at national conferences and begin imagining herself not just as a student at UWO, but as someone who could shape the campus around her.

Creating the spaces she needed

As Temi found her voice, she began noticing where students still needed more room to belong.

She helped start Women in STEM because she understood what it felt like to be the only woman in the room. The organization gave students across science, technology, engineering and math a place to connect, support one another and see that they were not alone.

She started the African Student Union after realizing there were more African students on campus than she had first known.

Temi also helped launch a campus chapter of the NAACP after learning more about the national civil rights organization and realizing students could create a chapter at the college level. She reached out, got permission from the national office and helped bring the organization to campus.

For Temi, each group began with a need she understood personally and became a way to make UWO feel more welcoming, more connected and more reflective of the students who call it home.

A legacy of belonging

By the time she graduated, Temi had done more than build a resume.

She had helped make UWO more welcoming for the students coming after her.

She created places where women in STEM could find each other, helped African students connect through culture and community and brought a national civil rights organization to campus.

At UWO, Temi found faculty who listened, organizations that opened doors and a community where she could lead and grow. Then she used those same opportunities to make campus feel more like home for others.

Her advice to students is simple: do not look down on yourself.

"Get as involved as you can and meet people," she said. "Go to events. Reach out to professors. Professors really like when you reach out to them."

For students who are homesick, uncertain or still trying to find where they belong, Temi's story offers a reminder that growth does not always happen all at once.

Sometimes it begins with one meeting. One class. One conversation. One person who makes you feel seen.

Her time at UWO helped her grow more comfortable as an international student, as a Black woman, as a leader and as herself.

"I don't think I've ever really been so proud of myself up until recently," she said.

Temi came to UW-Oshkosh looking for an education.

She left with a degree, a stronger sense of self and a legacy of belonging that will continue to shape campus for students who are still finding their way.

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