Two Refugee Youth Leaders Celebrate Major Educational Milestones
As another year of school starts across America, we reflect on the importance of education and the great need for education access to be available for all. We continue to advocate for refugees and asylees to be welcome in U.S. education systems, and to receive the support they need to be successful in their studies. We are proud to celebrate the educational accomplishments of two of our members – Refugee Congress Maine Delegate Shukri Abdirahman and Refugee Congress Oregon Delegate and Refugee Advocacy Lab State Lead for Oregon Olivé Bukuru.
Shukri recently graduated from the University of Maine with a double major in anthropology and international global studies. Olivé recently graduated from the University of Memphis with a master’s in public health.
It takes hard work and perseverance to successfully graduate from high school and college programs, and refugees and asylees face additional challenges and barriers to achieving their goals. Below, Shukri and Olivé share their experiences, accomplishments, and goals, as well as advice for other refugees pursuing higher education.
Shukri Abdirahman, Refugee Congress Delegate for Maine
Shukri Abdirahman recently graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington. She double majored in anthropology and international global studies.
What were your goals in college?
I have a deep curiosity about people, so I went into college with an interest in learning more about and better understanding humans. I wanted to understand the cultures, politics, and systems that surround people. I wanted to dive into traditions and taboos, and some of the reasons why people think and believe different things.
I decided to double major in anthropology and international global studies, because this gave me a chance to look at the larger world and examine the ways that globalization and cultures across different parts of the world connect with each other, as well as how individual cultures and experiences impact people.
What did it feel like to graduate?
It hasn’t really hit me yet that I have graduated from college. I feel like I’m in a dream! I’m the first person in my family to graduate. I never thought I would graduate, but I did.
Graduating was really important to me. I have younger sisters, and two of them are in high school now. My family has really helped me as I chased my dreams, and I have tried hard to set the standard for my younger siblings. If they see me graduate, that means that they can do it, too. I feel proud to be able to do something that was unimaginable in the past. I’m very honored to graduate and be the first person in my family to do it.
What advice do you have for other refugees pursuing higher education?
If I can do it, any other refugee or immigrant can do it!
I come from a background where education was not something that was an option for most of my family. There weren't any opportunities. When I was able to get an education, it was something like a dream come true for my heart. I fell in love with the process of learning. Now I see myself as a lifelong learner. I want to learn everything there is about the world and the people in it. I want to use what I learn to bring people together.
You have to be true to yourself and truly fight for what you believe in, no matter what level you are or what your role is. At the end of the day, you have to remember the struggles that you went through and that others are going through now. You need to help those people climb up the ladder to join you.
Now that I have graduated, I can help my younger sisters and other youth in my community. I can tell them that they can do it too. I fully believe in education, and I believe it is the biggest tool for change and progress.
You have such a positive attitude for the future.
I have an optimistic view of the world – I see possibilities and change, and people coming together. We need to get away from systems that don’t serve people anymore. We are moving toward communication and justice – real social justice.
In college, I studied political science and found it really interesting. Policies impact people in a positive or negative way, and we need leaders to make policies that can uplift people.
I really feel strongly about using what I learned in the classroom and putting it into action. School is not always action-oriented, but I am. I would always look for ways that I could apply what I was learning in my life.
What are some of the barriers to pursuing higher education that refugees experience?
Refugees face a number of challenges. If a refugee’s parents never went to college – or didn’t go to college in the U.S. – they don’t have someone to help them navigate the process. Their parents don’t have the privilege of understanding and having gone through it before.
I faced barriers in education because I didn’t understand the system or how to make the most of the opportunities there were. For example, I never took advantage of advisors when I was in the process of my college search. I knew I was going to go to college, but I didn’t understand that there was a system of support for this.
Even when refugees get to college, there isn’t much support. There are some first-generation college student programs, but they often don’t address the unique needs of refugees.
Additionally, refugee students often have a lot of responsibilities at home. Your siblings and parents need you, and that can impact your ability to pursue and succeed in higher education.
What is needed to help refugee students succeed?
Refugees need better education systems to be able to succeed in college. Schools need to do better at working with these populations and helping remove barriers – helping them understand how to navigate the system.
What has really helped me is talking with other refugees who have gone to college. If it weren’t for other refugee students helping me along the way and showing me that I could excel in school, it would have been so much harder. We came together and supported each other.
We also need a two-way exchange of information – parents and teachers learning more about what refugees need, and refugees learning about the systems so they can succeed. There should be a bridge from high school to college. If refugees are planning for college, the bridge can help connect them.
Have you seen these barriers in action, or opportunities for improvement?
The public policy classes I took helped me see so clearly how policy connects with life. It was real policy – things that affect people’s lives. I always wanted to learn how the government works and systems work and what laws are governing us. When I took a public policy class, it opened my mind and brought in my vision. A lot of things I thought were difficult to grasp are not actually so hard, and I realized that policy is where change happens.
It’s so important that people in positions of leadership represent the community. I went to a meeting recently, and I did not see one other person of color there. It didn’t represent the school that I see as a whole. We should have at least one representative who can understand the background of so many of our students.
This has helped me see how it all connects. A lot of problems I see can be fixed, if people come together and have discussions. Education helps with that. People in my community often don’t understand what it means to register to vote or how the government works. Basic education about these things is needed so that they can fully integrate into their communities and have thriving communities. That’s the only way to have it. We need to have equal opportunities and informed community members.
Community is family, and it’s important to think of it that way. We come together for the betterment of our communities, together.
What’s next for you?
I’m starting a new job as co-director at Maine Youth Power. I’ll be working on policies and social justice.
In the future, I hope to go to grad school or law school, and I want to do humanitarian work. I want to work across the world, helping different people – particularly those who are marginalized or discriminated against. I want to support them and be an advocate for them, so that they can seize the opportunities that are out there.
I don’t just want to tell people what they want to hear. I don’t just want to talk about the changes that are needed. I really want to make these changes. We need to follow through with real action.
Olivé Bukuru Kabura, Refugee Congress Delegate for Oregon
Olivé recently graduated from the University of Memphis with a masters of public health.
What were your goals in college?
I completed my undergraduate degree at PSU School of Public Health, with a focus on public health and concentration on community health. I wanted to be a public health educator, so I started off educating people in schools, but I wanted to do more and specifically wanted to work with refugees and immigrants. Then I decided to pursue my master’s degree to further develop my knowledge and experience, so I could do more in my community.
What misconceptions are there about refugees?
Whenever I can, I try to dispel the idea some people have that we’re horrible people. I don’t blame people for not understanding, because maybe they haven’t had the opportunity to travel or meet refugees and immigrants before. A lot of us are afraid of things we don’t know or understand. But I try to challenge that perspective – because when people hear your story and get to know you, their perceptions often change.
What’s your perspective on life? You seem to be very hopeful for change.
I come from war. My life in the refugee camp was so traumatic. I used to hear gun violence as a kid. We learned to believe we were going to die, so we could feel comfortable with it. You were always ready to die. Then, if you didn’t, you would think, “Yay, another day!”
We had to laugh to get through it. It’s not funny, but we needed to laugh.
Imagine growing up in that environment, and then coming here, to the U.S., where we are supposed to be safe and have opportunities – but here we see that some people think immigrants and refugees are criminals and treat you like you are. It’s hard.
All this helped me realize what I wanted to do with my life. I embrace differences and different cultures, and I’m always trying to challenge that perception of refugees and the racism and discrimination I see. It doesn’t make sense to me. If you’re not different, life is just bland. You need to stand out!
How has your family shaped your life?
I have a sibling who has autism and intellectual disability, and I help my family. I help my sister when I’m not at work or studying.
I have seen firsthand how people with kids who have disabilities need support that often isn’t available to them, and that’s so hard. People often don’t accept people who are on the spectrum – they think they are weird or demonic or possessed. I really want to change that. I want to bring more programs related to mental health and disabilities to the community.
What do you see as the role of education?
School has been one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life, but I pursued my degrees because I really want to change behaviors and outcomes in my community. I’ve seen what can happen – children and adolescents getting involved in things they shouldn’t and the impact on their lives. I wanted to implement programs to help youth out, so I pursued education to help me do that.
Sadly, there are a lot of opportunities, but you often need to leave your immediate environment to find them. Most of these communities don’t have resources and don’t get them.
I would like to help create activities for kids and teens to keep them busy. When I was in middle school, I was so busy, and that’s what saved my siblings and me. I liked knitting club, dance team, French club… but all kids are different. It might be soccer or basketball that appeals to them. I’d like to start more programs like this.
What’s next for you?
I plan to go back to school and get my doctorate. I’m going to start a PhD program in leadership, advocacy, and equity at Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine.
I like learning on my own, but school has really helped me learn more that can make a difference in my community. I want to keep studying public health and do community work.
Eventually, I would also like to take what I’ve learned back home to Burundi. Even though I don’t know my country, I feel like I want to help. I was born there and survived violence, and I feel like I need to help it.
What advice do you have for other refugees pursuing higher education?
It’s okay to be different. You are not supposed to be the same. Your difference is what makes you the person you are. As a refugee, I brought a different perspective to my graduate program, and that helped everyone learn and think about things differently. Don’t try too hard to fit in. You were not meant to.
Also remember that it’s okay to fail. I used to beat myself up because I pushed myself to be perfect. Then I learned that it’s okay to fail, because it teaches you something. There were times in my master’s program when I was really struggling with my thesis, but I had to stay focused and use that as a learning experience. I would tell myself, “Okay, yeah. I failed. Why?” You’re not doing any service to yourself if you just stop trying when you fail. You have to learn from it.
You need to take time for yourself, too. Self-care is so important. Stay close to friends, and find something you really like so you can take a breather.
Most of all, remember that you can do it. I tell refugees, “You survived war, you saw people dying, you survived life in the refugee camp, you came here and started from scratch… Remember that you literally prayed to be here not that long ago, so keep going. You’re going to make it!”
