An 18-year-old Somali student who came from a refugee camp in Kenya has been accepted to Harvard University, one of the world’s most prestigious schools.
Fatah Adan’s parents fled the civil war in Somalia in 1992. They were then resettled in Boston after living in the camp for six years, The Boston Globereports.
Fatah credits his parents for striving to nurture his success.
“They did everything they could to come to America,” Fatah told the Globe. “I have that want to give back to them. That’s what’s driven me all throughout middle school, high school. That’s what’s going to continue to drive me.”
He credits the dramatic change in his fortunes to Somaliland's Abaarso School, a very small boarding school he attended, which was founded in 2009 by an American hedge fund manager.
"I'm not the smartest kid in Somaliland but I've had [the] opportunity [to attend Abaarso]," said Adan, who received his Harvard acceptance letter, along with a full scholarship, this month and will begin his undergraduate studies in September.
The Abaarso boarding school has become something of a feeder school for elite universities. Adan, 20, is among a smallnumber of underprivileged students who are increasingly getting accepted into the most prestigious American universities, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown.
Munira Khalif, an 18 year-old Somali-American recognized for her achievements as an education activist, has been accepted into all the eight Ivy League universities in the United States.
Munira, a senior at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, has been also been accepted into Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Minnesota.
“I was very surprised. The best part for me was being able to call family members on the phone and to hear their excitement,” Munira said according to Kare 11. “This was truly a blessing from God. To me this news is reflective of the support and encouragement of my family, my school and my community.”
The eight Ivy League schools are Harvard University, Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and Yale University.
This is not the first time Munira has landed such prestigious position: last year, she was one of nine young nominees chosen from a pool of 300 people across the world to receive the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award.
The first program in PRI's documentary series, "Against the Odds," is about a student from Somalia: Abass Hassan Mohamed, who managed to get the highest grade in all of northeastern Kenya on his secondary school completion exams, despite having spent much of his life in a Kenyan refugee camp. He will soon begin his junior year at Princeton University, where he is excelling -- just as he has throughout his life.
Ridwan Hassen ’15, of Marietta, Ga., has been named a 2015 Rhodes Scholar. He joins Miriam Kilimo ’14, of Nairobi, Kenya, whose scholarship was announced earlier this month.
“On behalf of the entire Dartmouth community, I am so proud of Ridwan , who is a impressive scholar in his own right,” says President Phil Hanlon ’77. “The fact that the College has again produced two Rhodes Scholars in a single year speaks to the depth and breadth of the intellectual opportunities available to students at Dartmouth.”
A Somali scientist who's research work has been recognized and used by BioSonics, Inc. (which is an engineering and manufacturing firm that specializes in applying hydroacoustics to monitor and assess aquatic biological resources.) Awards: He won Best Speaker Award for Young Scientists during the Second International Conference on the Straits of Malacca, 15th - 18th October, 2001, Penang, Malaysia. He won the Golden Award during the Exhibition & Award for Research and Innovation 13-14 August 2002", University of Putra Malaysia. He won the Bronze Award for the Exhibition & Award for Research and Development 19-20 August 2004, Institute of Biosciences, University of Putra Malaysia.
A 26-year-old refugee from Somalia and San Diego community college student has bested some of today’s top scientific student minds in a highly competitive international science competition. Mohamed Musse, one of our four Mesa College students who presented research at the 10th Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), held in November in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the recipient of a prestigious award for his poster participation.
Mohamed’s research project and poster entry was called "Micro-Purification of Phosphofructokinase-1." His entry competed against 154 research abstracts submitted to ABRCMS in the Biochemical Sciences, Biochemistry category by students from top universities and research institutes. Only twelve awards were given in this category.
Mohamed’s winning entry was based on experience and research he gained during a summer internship working at UCSD under the guidance of Dr. Percy Russell and Anita Williams, who supervised his research. It was in Dr. Russell’s laboratory that Mohamed learned about research, and acquired experience in advanced lab techniques, and purifying proteins in a micro-scale.
The award consists of a gold medallion, a certificate of recognition, and monetary scholarship.
Mohamed is a student at San Diego Mesa College and a scholar in the college’s Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program.
“This is an outstanding achievement and accomplishment for Mohamed, for our College, and for our UCSD research mentors,” said Elizabeth J. Armstrong, interim president of Mesa College.