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It wasn鈥檛 easy for business major Medi Woldemichael to leave home in Ethiopia and start college nearly 7,000 miles away at UMass Lowell.

鈥淢y first year was a culture shock,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was too shy to speak in my classes because I thought people would make fun of my accent.鈥�

Woldemichael鈥檚 mindset shifted during her sophomore year. Working as an Orientation Leader, she helped first-year and transfer students get acclimated to campus.

鈥淚 learned how they felt being on their own and away from their family for the first time, and I realized it wasn鈥檛 just me as an international student feeling those things, it鈥檚 everyone,鈥� she says.

Now, as she prepares to complete her undergraduate degree in just three years, Woldemichael doesn鈥檛 want to leave.

鈥淚鈥檓 sad that I鈥檓 graduating early and missing out on that fourth year,鈥� says Woldemichael, whose concentrations are in international business and finance.聽

But she has business to tend to back home in Ethiopia鈥檚 capital city of Addis Ababa 鈥� specifically, her family鈥檚 coffee export business, Seka.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a big business within our country, but my plan is to expand it internationally,鈥� says Woldemichael, whose father, Seifu, started the business about 15 years ago and runs it with her mother, Azev.

鈥淚 wanted to help with the business when I was growing up, but they wanted me to focus on my education,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 want to make them proud because they worked hard to put me through school.鈥�

Woldemichael chose UML because of its affordability and proximity to Boston, where her sister, Bezawit, lived. She originally enrolled as a public health major before switching to business.

Helping students as an Orientation Leader inspired Woldemichael to become a Well-being Leader for the Manning School of Business.

鈥淎 lot of students are afraid to ask for help or don鈥檛 know about the resources that the university offers,鈥� she says. 鈥淎s Well-being Leaders, we鈥檙e not therapists, but we can help them navigate.鈥�

As a business student, Woldemichael 鈥渘ever imagined鈥� she would have the opportunity to travel to student conferences in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

鈥淢y roommates ask me, 鈥楬ow are you getting to go to all these places?鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淵ou just have to get involved, put yourself out there and talk to people.鈥�

One of Woldemichael鈥檚 favorite courses has been Internship in Entrepreneurship, in which students help local businesses through the student-run venture Mill City Consulting 鈥� while earning a $1,000 scholarship.

鈥淚鈥檓 very thankful for the opportunities that UMass Lowell and the Manning School have given me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 just show up in college; I showed out with my leadership.鈥�