Dr. Petros “Pete” Gheresus, Robert and Claire Reiss Chair of Industrial Engineering at Kettering University, has one resounding message about his journey from Eritrea (formerly a province of Ethiopia), East Africa, to the American Midwest: he didn’t get here alone.
“I did not get here by myself,” Gheresus said. “Call it the miracle work of God or the invisible hands of God. The probability of leaving Eritrea for educational opportunities was virtually unimaginable.”
Gheresus spoke about his journey at the annual Black History Month celebration at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Flint on February 8. The theme of this year’s celebration focused on “struggle.”
Gheresus’ struggles were plentiful at each point of his journey and now he’s dedicating his life to serving students both in his homeland of Eritrea and in the Flint and surrounding communities by sharing his time and knowledge.
Gheresus came to the United States as a 19-year-old with one year of English and an eighth grade education. He began his time in America by helping raise 1,000 beef cattle and baling hay “day-in and day-out.”
“That experience built my work ethic,” Gheresus said. “So today, in academia, when I see people stressed out, I say, ‘we don’t know what hard work is.’”
While working on the farm, Gheresus started high school but with limited English capabilities, which proved to be a greater challenge than he expected.
“Reading was a problem,” Gheresus said. “They placed me in 10th grade. I could barely understand English and they were reading Shakespeare. I was not with it.”
With the help of teachers and peers, Gheresus persevered and graduated from high school when he was 23-years-old. From there he moved to Boone, Iowa, and began attending Des Moines Area Community College with the aim of becoming a television repair man.
Why a television repair man? Gheresus was watching Sesame Street on television and realized that the show could be a powerful tool to promote and educate children in Eritrea. So he continued his education at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, with the hope of bringing educational technology back to his country, graduating in 1975 with a degree in engineering operations. Unfortunately, due to civil unrest, Gheresus could not go back. Instead, he continued his educational journey by completing his master’s (1977) and doctorate (1979) in industrial engineering at Iowa State before coming to Kettering (then General Motors Institute).
In March 2015, Gheresus will celebrate his 35th year as a professor at Kettering University.
Read more of the story at Kettering.