March 26, 2014 Quaniqua Epps Contributing writer

    Hemchand Gossai is a Georgia Southern University professor in the literature and philosophy department who strives to teach his students the curriculum and beyond.
    Gossai grew up in Guyana and came to the United States to attend Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. He says that while he enjoyed moving from Guyana to the U.S., it definitely took some getting used to.
    “There were many different transitions,” he said. “There was the weather, because Guyana is so tropical. There was no winter, there was no summer — there’s either wind, rain or sun. Minnesota, of course, is notably cold during the winter, so that took substantial adjustment.”
    While in college, Gossai was a triple major and the first international student to become student body president. He graduated summa cum laude after only three years. Gossai says that during that time, he discovered many things about himself.
    “Being far away from home, I discovered I had to look within myself to find the kind of strength, the kind of impulse to keep studying and the kind of understanding of what such independence meant,” he said.  
    He says that his most fulfilling moments as a professor come when he finds that his students have taken time to “pause to reflect and to think about some of the existential questions.”

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