Jedaidah Chilufya completed her undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Zambia and knew she wanted to continue at the graduate level. She searched online and chose to apply at ETSU.
“I knew I wanted a school that offered microbiology,” she says, “and I had friends in Georgia I could visit and then they would drive me to ETSU.”
While she was in Georgia preparing for the fall semester at ETSU, she purchased a new wardrobe, which, it turns out, came in very handy earlier this spring semester. “I knew the weather would turn colder than anything I had ever experienced, so I started buying thermal underwear, tights and heavier clothes.”
Even with that foresight, the East Tennessee winter was still a bit of a surprise, and Jedaidah saw her first snow. “I visited Seattle two years ago and England last year,” she notes, “but during the summer. Part of me wanted to go out and play in the snow, but even more, I wanted to stay in my nice warm apartment. Maybe next time I will go out to take a closer look and feel the snow on my tongue and face.”
Jedaidah was raised in Ndola, a copper mining city in Zambia. She moved away to attend high school and then to Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, where she entered the University of Zambia, the nation’s largest school. “I have a job as a lecturer waiting for me there when I return,” she says.
Jedaidah is the oldest of three sisters, all with Biblical names. The Jedaidah mentioned in the Bible was the wife and mother of kings of Judah. “My sisters are Sarah and Abigail,” she notes. “They got the easier names.”
When she arrived at ETSU, Jedaidah was paired with an International Buc Buddy who had previously befriended another student from Zambia. “She assisted with my first Halloween, Jedaidah explains. “I went to a Halloween party dressed as the Statue of Liberty.”
When she is not in the lab, Jedaidah participates in the Shades of Africa organization’s dance group. She also has an interest in Scrabble. She even started a Scrabble club after she graduated from college, and she is a member of the World English Scrabble Players Association. “Two years ago, I participated in an international Scrabble meet in Nairobi, Kenya. I was first from the bottom,” she says with a laugh, “but I had a lot of fun.”
Currently, Jedaidah is very involved in research. “Basically, I am working with plant pathology, looking at how moss responds to infection.” Now avidly interested in research, she hopes to continue in a doctoral program after earning her master’s degree in December 2016.
“Along with teaching, I want to continue doing research for the rest of my career,” she says. “I am learning to apply for research grants and will be presenting posters for the first time at conferences soon.”
Jedaidah says her experience in the U.S. has been eventful. She has enjoyed American holidays, beginning with a Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, ham, desserts and egg nog. “I also enjoyed decorating a Christmas tree,” she says, “because back home, tinsel and lights are all you put on a tree, and the exchange of gifts takes perhaps a minute, unlike the 24-hour period I witnessed here.” And, earlier this month, she added Easter eggs to her list.