College Students Raise Money and Surprise Security Guard With First Trip Home in Over a Decade

A group of college students from Providence College in Providence, RI, have grown close with their dorm security guard over the school year, so, when they learned he hadn’t seen his family in more than a decade, they raised enough money to send him on a trip home. 

The students moved into the fourth floor of their school’s Raymond Hall this past fall and say they’re now like “family.” That family includes their residence hall security guard, James Mogaji, originally from Nigeria. 

“He is someone that you are drawn towards,” Sophomore Daniel Singh told WLNE. “He is really kind and compassionate. After a long day, you go out on a Friday night after class, and you come back, James is there.”

James had admitted how painful it had been to be away from his family for so long but said he couldn’t afford to make the trip to Africa. On Feb. 29th, the students got together and secretly began a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising $3,500 to give their friend an all-expense paid trip home. 

“Once we learned that James hadn’t seen his family in over a decade, that’s what kickstarted this for us,” freshman Brandon Reichert said. “We take care of our own, and we firmly believe that James is one of our own.”

Before long, the page exceeded its goal with nearly 800 donations. 

On March 6, the fourth-floor residents gathered to hand James Mogaji an envelope with cash. Then they gave him a heartwarming speech that they caught on camera. It has since been shared by the New York Post.

“James, like, you’re unc. You’re the goat. You’re one of those people who have made the PC experience so good for all of us,” a student named Danny said. 

“You told us a while ago that you wanted to see your family in Nigeria, which you haven’t seen in a long time, so we came together,” he continued. “We take care of our own. That’s what we do at PC. We love you. You’re part of the family.”

Danny explained that they had raised enough money to send the security guard on a trip home. The moment James realized what happened, he was so overwhelmed with emotion that he covered his face and fell to the floor in shock. 

Providence College President Father Kenneth R. Sicard has since issued a statement sharing how proud he is to represent such a caring group of students. 

“The extremely considerate action of our students in Raymond Hall is generous and heartwarming, but it is certainly not surprising,” he said, per GMA. “Our campus community has a long history of care and concern for one another, and this is just the latest example. It makes us all proud to call ourselves Friars.”

You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.