Four months after completing his time as a Brandeis University student-athlete in 2018, two-time UAA Most Outstanding Running Event Performer Irie Gourde began a 6½-month research internship in Tanzania. His interest in global issues is an extension of his studies and his own experience of living in three different countries before entering college.

THE ROAD TO BURKINA FASO

Gourde was born in Portland, Oregon, but that was just one of three very different places he lived.

As he was finishing middle school, his mother was offered a job in the State Department as a foreign service officer, a position that would entail a significant move and lifestyle change. “At that point, we didn’t know where this job would lead us. Job assignments were given through a type of lottery system, so there was a lot of uncertainty as to where we would even be sent,” Gourde said. “One option was for me to stay in Portland with my grandparents, which may have been the more secure choice, but my household growing up was mostly just me and my mother, so I felt like I should go with her on this unexpected journey. I was also interested in the idea of traveling abroad, though I didn’t fully appreciate what that would entail at the time.”

Gourde had never traveled outside of the United States for any significant amount of time before this point. He spent some time learning about some of the countries on the assignment listings. As it turned out, his mother’s assignment would be in a place Gourde was completely unfamiliar with, Burkina Faso. “I had never heard of it,” he said. “I researched its history, its language, everything I could find out about it.”

Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta, is a landlocked country in West Africa that is one of the poorest countries in the world. With few natural resources and an unpredictable economy based on agricultural variations and run by the government, a large part of the economic activity comes from international aid.

“There were a lot of lessons that I would take away from my time in Burkina Faso, many of which would guide my decisions for the my academic future and my interest in economics and international trade,” Gourde relayed. “It was the most economically challenged environment I had ever been in, but also one of the friendliest.”

CIVIL UNREST HITS HOME

Gourde’s perspective changed immediately. “The stresses that I felt before were put on full stop. Once we were in Burkina Faso, I had to pay attention to details that I took for granted in other places,” he stated. “It changed my way of looking at problem solving. Power outages were very common so it even changed the way I wrote and saved essays. During brown outs, someone would stand on the street corner and direct traffic or you had to navigate the streets yourself. Even traffic lights flashing in Waltham confuse drivers, but here there were a lot more power outages and traffic. Young people would help out directing traffic, whether they got a tip or not.”

One event in particularly transformed Gourde’s mindset and vision for the future. In early 2011, toward the end of Gourde’s second year in Burkina Faso, there was a lot of civil unrest and escalating military protests in the country. Some sections of the military did not receive their housing allowances and went on to shoot up empty buildings. “In April (2011), the unrest escalated with weapons being stolen and multiple events of robbery and vandalism. Our house was also targeted,” Gourde recalled. “We had soldiers shooting through our windows and there was broken glass all over the place. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. This was a whole other aspect of structural danger and the impact it has. I didn’t fully understand how I would be affected at the time.”

“The experience of being so far out of your personal element and comfort with no option to leave for two years was a challenge. I was not fully equipped to adapt in those first couple of months and wanted to go home,” Gourde said. “Eventually, it changed the way I react to hardship, not to be wary of it, but to embrace the change and challenge and see where it takes me. I used it to become more adaptable and not be too fazed by events beyond my control. When things went wrong, I saw a new opportunity.”

Although the transition from life in Portland to Burkina Faso was dramatic and disparate for Gourde, it became a springboard for his future. “It inspired my other decisions in academia and career. You can see infrastructural troubles on video, but you can’t understand how it really is without being there,” Gourde remarked. “The smell of the dust, the clamor of marketplaces, and the uneven pavement when you walk are things you can only experience by being amidst them. What I saw as daunting, others reacted to as just another part of the day.”

FINISHING HIGH SCHOOL IN CANADA

His mother’s second post with the State Department was in Toronto, Canada, where he completed his final two years of high school and competed in track for the first time. He had played soccer as his main sport growing up, playing for various clubs and teams or with anyone playing around him.

“A friend of mine ran on the cross country team and I decided to join the very small track program, which consisted of only four or five of us at the time,” he recollected. “I was one of four on the team my senior year and was the only male who sprinted.” Gourde, a male jumper, male cross country runner, and female middle distance runner made up the entire team. “I trained for speed and endurance in the 100 and 200, while competing in the 400 as well. I really wasn’t sure how to run the 400 and my body wasn’t ready for it. I ran in about five meets and didn’t have fond memories of it.”

While in Toronto, Gourde started looking at colleges. “It was all a blur at first, but Northeastern and Brandeis really stood out. I was interested in physics and economics. After some hard thinking, I decided economics was my preferred route so I decided to attend Brandeis for my undergraduate program,” he stated. “I would not compete in track. My high school program was not particularly large or competitive. I didn’t believe I was in the shape or had the mindset to compete in varsity athletics entering college.”

 “I never forgot the nature of problem solving and the kindness of the people in Burkina Faso” he commented. “There is a lot more to see in the world. My goal is to have some kind of role in contributing to improving global well-being. There is a very big world for creative problem solving in that field.”