Though he could not be there, Ardo Ibrahim knew her father was proud as she accepted her diploma last May.
It had been just over nine years since she immigrated, as a teenager, with her family from Kenya to Faribault. She had to learn English, adjust to a new culture, battle adolescence. She overcame her challenges to graduate high school and eventually college.
And though she couldn’t share the moment with her father, who had died recently, Ibrahim could dedicate the accomplishment to him, the man who always stood behind her, and to her mother, who still does.
“My father always pushed me to get a better education, be a better person than you were yesterday, because things are [going to] fall, but if you do it with all of your being, then at least you truly tried,” she said. “And my mom is my hero.”
Ibrahim, 23, currently works for Workforce Development Center in Faribault as a bridge mentor, helping youth in the area connect with resources. She also puts in hours for Growing Up Healthy as a community organizer in Faribault.
“I love this job,” she said. “I love working with kids ages 14-24. I think those are the students that I can help. It’s learning who they are, what they do, what they need help with. Being their mentor, it’s rewarding.”
Though life in America has treated Ibrahim and her family well, life in Ethiopia, their birthplace, was generally not bad, either.
Ibrahim’s mom, Rukia Abdullahi, was born 57 years ago into a little farm in the country. Her family raised livestock and a few crops. It was mostly subsistence farming.
Abdullahi’s father died when she was young, so it was just her mother and siblings together. Life was good, as she remembers it.
“She loved running around in the rain,” said Ibrahim, translating for her mother. “It was peaceful at that time. It was beautiful. It was always summer.”
Ibrahim was raised in the same city as her mother, though the family was in an apartment rather than on a farm. She, too, has fond memories of childhood.
“It was just like you don’t even have a care in the world. It was just free,” she said.
Over time, though, Ethiopia became more affected by war. Times became tougher for Ibrahim’s family.
The parents wanted all of their kids to get a strong education, and their home country was no longer a good place to provide it. They were willing to give up the place they knew and loved in order to give their kids every chance at success.
“Leaving everything behind was a bit hard,” said Abdullahi. “As long as my family was with me, the rest didn’t matter. My husband and I were not educated. I didn’t want that for my kids.”
Ibrahim’s elder sister had already traveled to Minnesota with her American husband. She had gone on to take a job at Jennie-O Turkey Store. The rest of the family moved from Ethiopia to Kenya for about three years before joining the sister in Faribault in December 2016.
Faribault
Life in a new country was a little overwhelming to start. Ibrahim, who was about 14 at the time, remembers waking up on the first morning.
“There was snow everywhere, and I ran out without any shoes or anything,” she said. “My sister said ‘what are you doing’ and grabbed me. I just wanted to know and see it.”
At middle school, where she couldn’t communicate with virtually anyone and had no idea what was happening around her, Ibrahim’s innocent mistakes were less forgiven.
“I wasn’t scared, but it was just like listening to birds talk,” she said. “Some of the kids would make fun of you.”
Ibrahim, though, was only motivated to learn English faster. By the next fall, she was attending the high school and had a much better grasp on the language.
She challenged herself at school. Then at home, she wrote letters, practicing writing and reading. She also got help from her brothers, who were also at the school but older than her.
“I pushed myself to the limit,” she said.
New heights
Ibrahim’s hard work in those early years in Faribault paid off in the short term and the long term. Her grasp on the language allowed her to start succeeding in school.
She graduated from high school on time in 2012. She took a couple years to work before starting at South Central College in 2014. For her certification as a medical assistant, she needed to go to the campus in North Mankato, away from her family.
At times, as she worked two jobs and took over 20 credits per semester, Ibrahim felt overwhelmed. That’s when she would turn to her father, who had moved back to Ethiopia in 2011, suffering from diabetes and wanting to feel more at ease in his home country.
“I talked to him every morning when I was in college,” Ibrahim said. “My mom and I would be in a conference with him.”
The encouragement kept her going through the most challenging times. And by early May of this year, she was preparing to graduate with a 4.0 grade point average.
Two days before the ceremony, she got word of her father’s death. His blood sugar had suddenly risen dangerously high, and doctors weren’t able to bring it back down in time.
“I last spoke to him May 6 (four days before he died). I said ‘yes dad, I’m going to graduate.’ He said ‘Oh my goodness, I’m so proud of you. I love you,’” Ibrahim remembered.
“I was so happy, and then it was just a drop out of nowhere. It was like someone hit you in the back of the head and you don’t know how it happened. I wish I could spend more time with him.”
Despite the pain and the loss, Ibrahim took her diploma and charged forward. She quickly found a job in Faribault at Growing Up Healthy, followed soon after by the position at Workforce Development.
Even though she went to college to be a medical assistant, she is finding plenty fulfillment in a different field. She knows what it means to get a push in life, a little help. Now she gets to be the one providing it.
“There are a lot of people that don’t have family to push them in life,” she said. “To be there to help somebody is the most rewarding thing anyone can ask for. Making their day different.”
Ibrahim believes that, given the resources, all people from all backgrounds can thrive in America. She said it’s the place that “introduced me to me.”
“I believe we’re all steps for one another,” she said. “Someone built the steps for me. Since I reached that goal, I need to build the steps for the people around me. I believe it just takes time.” Read more here
No comments:
Post a Comment