Alumni Stories: 43 Years of Friendship

In the Fall of 1981, two people from vastly different cultures embarked on a lifetime journey with immeasurable impact. Tanko Ahmed, from Jos, in Nigeria, and Steve Baroch, from a small town in Oregon, USA, became roommates on the second floor of Richmond’s Kensington campus.  

Steve knew he wanted to study in London since he was nine years old: “When travelling with my father, I remember looking out the window of a London Hotel, and thinking, “I’m coming back here to go to college!” He studied Economics at Richmond for his junior year, having transferred credits from Lewis & Clark College in Portland. Beginning in 1978, Tanko chose Political Science after his A Levels at Oxford and receiving offers from around the UK. “Richmond was different,” he said, explaining why he chose a liberal arts university. “Not too big and had a great mixture of people. I love saying that I went to school with people from 52 different countries.” 

In 1981, Steve and Tanko were matched as roommates, having requested to be paired with people from outside their home countries.  When they first moved in, “the differences between his life and mine were stark,” Steve said. But they quickly found common ground in a love of music, James Bond and The Pink Panther movies. As Steve and Tanko became closer, “He started calling me “Mr. Bond” because I liked Bond movies,” Tanko told us. “I learned modern dance in London. I enjoyed dancing like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever. Americans are curious and adventurous, which is what I liked about them.” Tanko went hiking and “restaurant crawling” for the first time with Steve. “They all called me “Shaft in London,” as I resembled Richard Roundtree with my Afro-hair, and “The Shark” for being a relentless hunter of academic materials in field research.”  

Steve said his experience in London was expansive compared to “what I could get in Oregon.” As an American, he had a new access to the rest of the world through London. He travelled extensively around Europe, visiting Wales, Scotland, and Amsterdam, even working in Germany in the summer of 1981. They also agreed to make their room a social center. Tanko recalled, “We never ate a meal alone. We always left our room unlocked for anyone to wander in and start a conversation.” “Talking with someone down the hall from Turkey, Sudan, or Finland, and to have them as a friend was more than a book education could ever provide,” Steve added. Steve even met his wife Ana Ximenes who was also studying with Richmond for a semester.  

Since then, Steve, Tanko and Ana have remained friends, visiting each other in their home countries as well as other Richmond alumni. In 2006, Steve and Ana went to Nigeria and visited Tanko’s son’s school. Seeing the library bare, Ana thought it was something they could help with. Steve returned with “books, school supplies, medical supplies and computers from friends and fellow Rotary Club members.” Since then, Tanko, Steve, Ana, and other friends, have helped finance, supply and assist with multiple resettlements after periods of violence or displacement around Nigeria.

During his career Steve became the owner of a successful telecommunications infrastructure company for many years and now works to help numerous non-profits and causes for refugees and other people in need around the world.  Tanko spent time working for the National Insitute for Policy and Stategic Studies (NIPSS); he is now retired as senior fellow from War College and with two PhDs under his belt.  Ana has been a Management Consultant for over 30 years in many US and International locations.  She currently owns her own consulting business and is on the Board of Trustees of Stephens College in Missouri (Her original undergraduate college) and is on the Board of iDE an NGO working with International Development in 16 countries. When reflecting on what he gained from studying at Richmond, Tanko tells us, “I can design any kind of programme and I can work with anybody across the world. This is the magic of an international education.” 

After 43 years, their friendship continued into the next generation. Steve is now working with Tanko’s son, Abdullahi, to raise funds to rebuild boreholes and waterpumps in Abdullahi’s district of Mallam-Madori in the Nigerian State of Jigawa. The existing water pumps have fallen into disrepair, and their goal is to rebuild as many as they can to improve water availability for the local community. The project will be overseen by Abdullahi’s foundation, taking after Tanko’s passion for building a better life for others. Adbullah has built a tremendous organization which supports his community through feeding programs, sports programs for youth and community development. If you are interested in helping with the borehole, please do donate via the GoFundMe Page or feel free to get in touch Steve. 

In giving advice to incoming students, Steve says, “never pass up on an opportunity. You can sleep when you go back home,” he laughs. “Broad minded-ness,” Tanko adds. “Everybody in the world is as strong as their minds. With broadmindedness, you absorb everything you can get, freeing your perspective on how you live, work, learn and mix with people different from yourself. That is the Richmond power.” “Go to all the places you dream of,” Steve insists.  

The legacy of Steve and Tanko’s paths crossing started with their openness to new opportunities and led to a lasting friendship they both cherish. “I brought up my kids with the values of Richmond,” Tanko said. “They are global citizens like we are.” Both alums still stay connected with their Richmond alumni network around the world, in person and online, and they often reminisce of their time on campus. “We were the happiest kids in the world.”