Students blog

While prepping for college in high school, we’re all pushed to figure out exactly the path our life is going to take and what we want to achieve. Asking an 18-year-old to choose their path right away is a recipe for disaster and only leads to a very hasty decision. In my final year of high school in Kenya, we were brought forms to fill out on where we wanted to be placed and what majors we’d like to pursue. In a class of about 40 students, more than 50% had medicine at the University of Nairobi as their top choice. I chose to follow the crowd.

I had never even been to the University of Nairobi, let alone knew what those majors entailed. I was absolutely clueless to what I wanted to do with my life. I did know one thing though, I had to put up a front and not disappoint my parents with my cluelessness. So I began pulling majors out of thin air from chemical engineering to medicine. I eventually picked medicine, economics, and math. Medicine to fulfill my parents’ dreams, economics and math because I enjoyed calculus. These choices make no sense now and I strongly believe I would’ve been miserable in them, but it was what my 16-year-old self came up with under pressure from home and school.

I remember the feeling of despair and helplessness, the feeling of being defective for not knowing exactly what I wanted to do. I felt like a failure because I understood what my parents have sacrificed for me to further my education. It took me years to shed these feelings and be content with the path my life was on. I now try to avoid putting my high school senior brother through the same feelings. I have explained uncertainty is okay, that there is no need to know it all now. It is good to keep your mind open, follow your passions, and learn from your mistakes.I can’t time travel and tell myself this, but I can share what I’ve learned through growing and letting myself experience things.

When the opportunity came to move to the United States, I was thrilled. I liked that I’d have my undergraduate years to pursue passions and learn more about myself before taking the medical school plunge. I would get some time to figure out what I wanted while not completely crushing the medical school dream. In community college, I was finally able to figure out what major I wanted to pursue and what school I wanted to transfer to while I remained open to new ideas and experiences.

I have always been one to toss my hijab in the ring for any scholarship opportunity and hope for the best. Imagine my surprise and excitement when I received the call from Pearson saying I had gotten theirs. Through the Phi Theta Kappa scholarship portal, applicants are able to apply for multiple opportunities via one application.  I had completely forgotten about the Pearson scholarship, one that would eventually expose me to some of the best people and experiences in my life. Up until that point everything had been going great for me and this just seemed like the perfect icing on an almost perfect year.

The mentorship component along with the Pearson textbooks included made this the opportunity of a lifetime. I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to see who I would be paired with. Up until that point all my mentors had been people that were similar to me in one way or another. The Pearson Scholarship mentor program is a virtual one; my mentor and I would meet monthly via video calls. A few weeks after the initial congratulatory email, I received a second one that contained the name and preliminary information about my mentor. I looked at her name, location and job title and I really didn’t know what to make of it. We were so different and my thoughts were all over the place, “What’s an English Portfolio manager?” “Upstate New York? That’s a long way from San Diego!” I spent the time between then and our first video meeting trying not to let apprehension take over as it usually does when I’m put in a situation I can’t control. How would we connect? Would we even connect?

As soon as I met my mentor, Sherri, my apprehension went away. We started sharing more and more of our lives. We talked about our families, our childhoods, and our education/career journeys. We bonded over our mutual love for the ocean, the sun and everything California. She may not have known it, but she became my motivator. We developed a routine of bouncing thoughts and ideas off of each other.

When I was trying to transfer, Sherri cheered me on and I was able to get through it. During the internship application season, Sherri looked over my resume and cover letters and helped me put together a coherent application. When I got rejected by a school I thought would be the best option for me at the time, Sherri reminded me of the other incredible opportunities I already had and helped me see the bright side of a heartbreaking situation.

My story begins in a city on the coast of the East African country of Kenya. Being the eldest of 5 siblings and the daughter of two very hard working Somali parents, I was always considered the hope of the family. From grade school to college, I have always been the one on whom the family’s future rested. My parents continually strive to give me and my siblings the tools we need to succeed in the world. I went to the best schools my parents could afford in Kenya, starting from The Nyali School to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Secondary and Technical School. Coming to the United States was a continuation of my parents’ life goal of giving me the best opportunity achieve success.

Finding Resources for Success

At Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, I managed to find my place in the Associated Student Organization and Phi Theta Kappa. From the first day I was welcomed and supported by strangers who would soon turn into close friends, mentors and confidantes. In the first few weeks I struggled to adjust my knowledge to fit what was being introduced in my classes. Then I found my school’s MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement) program. MESA is a California statewide academic enrichment program that supports economically and educationally disadvantaged students to prepare for and excel in STEM majors. In MESA I found a safe space with tutors, computers, printers and everything else I needed to succeed. As soon as I could, I started tutoring and doing my best to give back to the center that helped me excel academically.  With all of these resources and great people so invested in my success I really have no reason not to reach my full potential.

Scholarship increased self-confidence

Receiving the Pearson Scholarship has also given me the motivation to go after goals that initially seemed unreachable. Being honored in this way has made me believe in myself and has increased my self-confidence. The scholarship has helped alleviate some of the load my expenses in the United States have on my parents. With the first disbursement I have been able to apply to more transfer schools and comfortably pay off the application fees without imposing on my parents. The scholarship has also reduced the cost of textbooks because of the complimentary educational materials Pearson has so graciously added to the scholarship.

A mentor to help shape my future

As part of the scholarship, I have also been matched with a Pearson employee mentor. My awesome mentor, Sherri, has been a great motivator and supporter. She has helped me improve myself in ways I hadn’t thought of. A mentor is a teacher and a guide to the young and inexperienced like me. Mentors help in shaping us and who we become as professionals and future leaders. They motivate us to pursue our dreams even when we think they’re too far out of reach. They also provide a different perspective on issues we face in our daily lives and our pursuit of education and excellence.

With the support of my family, friends, campus resources, Pearson and a great mentor to guide me, my dreams are now definitely within reach.