Malcolm X College students take trip of a lifetime in study abroad program visit to Africa

It's a big weekend for some Chicago students about to graduate from Malcolm X College, and a critical part of their educational journey was a free trip to Africa.

The students in the study abroad program said it helped them stay focused on their studies and learn more about themselves.

It was the trip of a lifetime for Courtney Beckford-Onar; leaving Chicago and taking a nearly 13-hour flight to Ghana.

"It wasn't just a vacation, not at all. It was very spiritual," he said.

Malcolm X College President David Sanders started the study abroad program nearly two years ago. The idea came from students in their Black male mentoring program.

"They really said they didn't know who they were; that society was every day giving them a different version of their identity," he said.

Back when the mentoring program began, the retention rate for Black men finishing college was 53%, and Sanders decided to shift gears.

"We took 20 of our educators that looked like them and took two students and partnered them with those educators," he said.

Sanders said, at the end of the semester, the retention rate was 93%.

He presented that research to U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Illinois), and the school received a congressional earmark of $1 million that can be used to give students a free trip that can help them learn more about themselves. This past February, it was a trip for 20 students to Africa.

"We don't have to worry about anything. We just actually just need to show up, you know? And it was a blessing, and I'm grateful," Beckford-Onar said.

For Joseph Rice, it was his first time getting a passport and flying out of the country.

"I was never thinking I would be in line at 20, 22, 23 years old getting a passport to go to Africa," he said.

While the program was initially geared toward Black men, they've expanded it to everyone.

"It changed me to not procrastinate, to not give up on what I want to do, and just to keep going," Donisha Stewart said.

Rice is one of many students who will graduate this weekend. More than 1,000 City Colleges of Chicago students will walk across the stage inside Wintrust Arena on Saturday. Sanders said he hopes the study abroad program will inspire more students to fulfill their dreams.

Sanders said the next group of students will travel to Portugal in June.