From Rwanda to Oneonta: Denis Muganza '17 My Oneonta Life

Denis Muganza:            Oh, I remember going back home and people, I was in the plane and people are like, wait, are you that guy who wraps in the, you know, it was cool, like it's, if someone yelled my name across a airport in Brussels, which is weird but interesting, you know,Host:                            welcome to my Oneonta life, a podcast about everything Oneonta. I'm your host Jared Stanley. On this show we discovered the stories and experiences of the people who make SUNY Oneonta the place we like to call home. [inaudible]Host:                            music is a huge ingredient in the college experience just as much as pizza pulling all nighters, spring break. For some students, music plays a much larger role in their life. It's part of their personal identity and is the driver of who they want to be and where they want to go in life. Today I'm introducing you to Dennis Muganda, a musical artist from Kigali, Rwanda, and a 2017 graduate of SUNY Oneonta. I got to know Dennis during his time at Oneonta and learned about his life as an international student. His aspirations as a musician and what he was going to miss most about his college experience. Dennis's time at Oneonta started with his trip to campus, which was a bit longer than the typical Oneonta student when he boarded a plane from Rwanda heading across the globe to the United States.Denis Muganza:            It was my first time in the United States and the first place I Atlanta doors and JFK and you know, I went to New York city and it was the biggest city I'd ever been to and towns, a little overwhelmed. And then the next day I was in Oneonta, which was a huge contrast and I didn't know how people were going to, if people were meant to be nice to me or you know, if they're going to think of me as a foreigner and not to want to be friends with me, but it all turned out great.Host:                            Adjusting to life in college is a challenge for most freshmen students. And even more so as an international student, even though Dennis is from across the globe, he and many other Oneonta students have one thing in common, a love for music. Back in Rwanda, Dennis began his music career when he was 13 years old when he produced his first song by age 17. He was an avid performer and event organizer and formed his own music label, dark matter entertainment.Denis Muganza:            I just wanted to increase my chances of succeeding really. So I did everything that I could and like starting recording studio days and not the same as here cause I'm here. Oh, every other student has a recording gear, you know. Whereas there, um, not everybody is privileged enough to have a recording Mike or you know, any of the interface or even a laptop, you know. So I had that. Then me and my friends just tipped in like 10 bucks every, every month. Five of us that add up to 50 bucks. Believe it or not, they could actually rent a room this big, you know, you know, I ended up for a month, you know, so it was like, of course not in the best neighborhoods, but we'd still go and get every sound soundproof displays ourselves, camera and everything. And Hey man, the recording studio, I knew it was a lot of funHost:                            as a student. Dennis looked for ways to become involved in the campus music scene, but he found a lack of diversity in music styles amongst student musicians.Denis Muganza:            As much as I like all genres of music, everybody on campus seemed to have a similar style. They all had the guitar that they just pop out and start playing and singing a little bit like, um, some version of John Mayer, the most part at least that was the stereotypical on the Ontario musician, you know. So I was personally a little bit disappointed cause I, I didn't hesitate. I went to all the clubs, I went t