It is indeed a miracle and precious moment to cherish, having the opportunity to tell a profound story about myself, and the hurdles I have overcome in pursuing the academic life, which I have always held in high esteem. Exactly 3 years ago, I was a high school graduate living in the world's largest refugee camp in Kenya under United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees with no hope of getting a higher education due to the fact that UNHCR doesn't have the resource to send a refugee to a higher education. After graduating from high school as a top student in 2009, I thought that was the end the road. In 1991 a civil war broke out in my home country Somalia and my family ended up in the Refugee camp when I was 6 months old. We escaped with our lives nothing on but, a pair of shoes. We settled in the refugee camp depending on United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for food, shelter and water. Life in the next 20 years was painful. The worst of all came when my mother asked for a divorce after my parents disagreed on whether to live in the harsh life of the refugee camp or to go to back to Somalia where the civil war was still on. After a long battle my parents divorced and my dad won over the custody of the children. My mother left us when I was 2 years old and I haven't seen her from that day on. The living conditions I grew up were harsh which revolved around lack of proper shelter, food and drinking water, severe malnutrition, poor sanitation, lack of health facilities, severe overcrowding, walking in the hot scorching sun which is mostly above 30 degrees Celsius every day in 40 minutes to get to school and having one meal a day. I remember living in a 120 square feet house with 8 of my family members for the last 20 years. The government of Kenya didn't permit us to travel within their country and they restricted us in an area that is 50 square km and has a radius of 18 km. The first time I travelled out of this refugee camp was when I was moving to United States of America. With all these challenges in my way I managed to graduate from high school at the age of 20.
In April 2010, I was fortunate to move to the US after US government granted my family an asylum as refugee to start a new life in the United States of America. I thought life will be easier despite 20 years of harsh life but, it turned out my expectations were not real. I had to endure the responsibility of providing for the family, paying the rent and supporting my family members back in the refugee camp since I was the oldest in the family. The spirit to pursue a higher education came in to my mind after meeting with Mohamed a graduate from UW with BSEE degree. It was late afternoon and I was coming home from work wearing dirty clothes since I was working in a warehouse. As I was walking from the parking lot to my apartment suddenly, someone yelled behind me. I looked at my back and I saw someone dressed modestly parking a nice car. That person was Mohamed. We had a conversation, but the most interesting question was when he asked me where I work at, and I told him I work at a warehouse as forklift driver. He told me who he is, when he came to the United States and what he achieved in four years. He told me I can be like him after four years if I start the journey by today. He also told me he is from work too but, we were not identical. His clothes were clean, he didn't seem tired, he was smiling on the contrary my clothes were dirty and I was tired.
Two months after talking to Mohamed I joined Highline Community College in the summer of 2011. I talk to an advisor after taking the compass placement test and the advisor told me I can register for English reading 91, writing 91 and math 98. As a child and a student in my early education I always had a passion for science and math. As a child I was fascinated with how things work and wanted to find out more about how different devices and machines were constructed, so I decided major in electrical engineering. My interest in electrical engineering is rooted back in to the refugee camp when I worked with a local generator owner that supplied limited electricity in the refugee camp. I was responsible for turning on the generator at 6pm and then turning it off at 11pm. At that I wasn't sure what was going on behind bars so I decided to major in electrical engineering to unveil what was going on within these electrical wires. Starting from intermediate algebra and going all the way to calculus wasn't an easy thing to do but, through hard work, courage and determination I was able to get A in my all my calculus classes. Highline changed my life; now I can proudly say that in response to the opportunity given, my hard work has driven me to maintain a quarterly GPA of 3.8 in 5 quarters. I have however faced some challenges in my time at Highline. During the fall of 2012 I registered to take Linear Algebra, Calculus 3 and Physics 201 which affected my grade. My GPA drop from 3.89 to 3.65 after getting 2.0 from Linear Algebra. Highline was a great starting point to begin my career; as it nurtured me academically and gave me the opportunity to meet with people from different backgrounds and cultures.
Reflecting on my past experiences, I would say the culture of instability in my country robbed me of my childhood. A culture of misunderstanding and of power at any cost is destructive. In the U.S. however, I have experienced cultural diversity and cultural tolerance, teaching me that unity, consensus and compromise, despite individual differences, are the only means to progress.
Despite my shortcomings in life, I have learned to be optimistic and resolute, always using my challenges as opportunities for progress. Being the first person in my immediate family to attend college, my goal to graduate with Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and then pursue graduate studies in Electrical Engineering. My dream is to be a valuable member of society and to give back through initiatives that will empower and inspire others, mainly the least privileged. A University of Washington degree will propel me in realizing my dream, given the opportunities available to students, notably scholarships, the chance to grow through internships and to be a part of an institution that values service to the community
It's good to have your prompt so that we can align our comments with that. Next time you make a post please provide the prompt together with your essay :)
I was a high school graduate living in the world's largest refugee camp in Kenya under United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees with no hope of getting a higher education due to the fact that UNHCR doesn't have the resource to send a refugee to a higher education.
.... interesting to know :)
In 1991 a civil war broke out in my home country Somalia and my family ended up in the Refugee camp when I was 6 months old.
Why do you suddenly go back to past ? This gives a sudden abrupt feeling to the reader. I feel you should start a new para with this line and tell the readers about your childhood hardships.
. With all these challenges in my way I managed to graduate from high school at the age of 20.
.... Bravo... you are really great and you have presented this part. Yes, you should put all this into a new para.
