Mohamed, Zacharia

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Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 49 Jesuit Higher Education in a GlobalContext Article 10February 2016Great Steps Forward Through Education: From aRefugee Camp to Le Moyne College: AmaongProfessors, Great Mentors and FriendsZacharia MohamedFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationMohamed, Zacharia (2016) "Great Steps Forward Through Education: From a Refugee Camp to Le Moyne College: AmaongProfessors, Great Mentors and Friends," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol. 49, Article 10.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol49/iss1/1020 ConversationsIwas born in Somalia,but I was raised by mysister in a refugee campcalled Kakuma inKenya. My family gotseparated during the war inSomalia when our village wasattacked. My 10-year-old sis-ter rescued me during theattack and escaped the coun-try carrying me on her back.Years later I was told I wasabout 11 months old. TheUnited Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) in Nairobi sent usto the refugee camp.Growing up there, I saw earlyon the importance of healthcare and the dire need for it.I was lucky; growing up inthe refugee camp I got sickonly once, but other kidswere not so lucky. Only onesmall clinic served most ofthe camp. I remember thatsometimes it took days to gettreatment. The small clinicwas consistently crowded,lacked medications to treatpatients, and most of the timedid not have enough staff tomeet patient demands. By age 10, I wanted to goto school but could not whilein the refugee camp. My sistercould not afford to send meto school. She was alreadyworking very hard to feed meand her infant son, so anyextra money had to gotowards food and clothes. Formost people in the refugeecamp, hope for a better lifewas sponsorship to anothercountry. My sister, her son,and I were very fortunate getsponsorship to the U.S. fromUNHCR and CatholicCharities. After a long series ofinterviews, we came to theUnited States in 2005. Comingto the U.S. has opened up aworld of opportunities. I wasable to learn English, attendschool and learn to read andwrite. Learning English wasan important achievement forme. Attending and graduatinghigh school were also a majormilestone because no one inmy family had ever gone tohigh school or college. I am currently a seniormajoring in biology with aphilosophy minor at LeMoyne College. I will beapplying to medical schools.I have gained so much fromattending Le Moyne, bothacademically and personally.I have been surrounded byamazing and caring profes-sors who go above andbeyond for students. I havegained many great mentorsand friends. I have been suc-cessful in college because ofthe supportive, caring, andnurturing environment thataims to educate the wholeperson. I have had hurdles toovercome while in college,the biggest one being bal-ancing my education withtaking care of my disabledsister and my two youngnephews, 10 and 13 yearsold. Le Moyne College hasgiven me the support,encouragement, and educa-tion to get me closer to mydream of becoming a familydoctor. After completing mymedical school educationand training, my goal is topractice medicine in the U.S.until I gain adequate experi-ence and training to be ableto work in refugee camps.This has been my long-termgoal and dream since I was10 years old.Zacharia Mohamed is asenior at Le Moyne Collegemajoring in biology with aphilosophy minor. He is nowthe sole caregiver for his sis-ter, who has become blind,and he is in the process ofapplying for medical school.From a Refugee Camp to Le Moyne CollegeAmazing Professors, GreatMentors and FriendsBy Zacharia MohamedWhen I decidedI wanted togo to medicalschool, Iknew itwould be a long road. Theapplication process was verycompetitive; but more thanthat, my immigration statusat the time raised issues.Medical schools would notaccept students who wereundocumented, in partbecause they did not qualifyfor federal loans and, there-fore, had no way to meet thehigh costs of attending med-ical school. But more impor-tant, the schools feared thatwithout a Social SecurityNumber and a work permit,we would not be able tobecome practicing physi-cians after graduation. With the advent of theDeferred Action forChildhood Arrivals (DACA),qualified undocumented stu-dents were granted a SocialSecurity Number and aThe Dream FulfilledFrom Undocumented to MedStudentBy Pablo da SilvaGreat Steps Forward Through EducationStudent Experiences1Mohamed: Great Steps Forward Through Education: From a Refugee Camp to LePublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 2016

Great Steps Forward Through Education: From a Refugee Camp to Le Moyne College: Among Professors, Great Mentors and Friends

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1970&amp;context=conversations

Great Steps Forward Through Education: From a Refugee Camp to Le Moyne College: Amaong Professors, Great Mentors and Friends

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