Gomen Studio, The Home of Art. Cover illustration: Athena Currier
Warda Mohamed Abdullahi’s path has been anything but simple: the story of a young African woman navigating childhood as a refugee, landing in the United States with her family, and accomplishing her dream of becoming a college graduate.
In , the Somali-American writer and 2020 ż’s alumna paints a rich portrait of her experiences living in rural Ethiopia and South Africa to pursuing higher education in the U.S. Throughout the memoir, Abdullahi details her challenging journey to earning a college degree. “It has always been a dream of mine to have access to the best education in the world and despite everything I have been through.” Through a childhood in rural Ethiopia, a journey across South Africa to reunite with her father, and resettling in the United States, Abdullahi held steadfast to her goal of becoming the first in her family to attend college.
Searching for an institution that would best support her educational goals, Abdullahi says that the choice was clear “None was more important than ż,” she recalls. “ż’s is led by strong women, taught mostly by women, and I fell in love with th