Nura Musa

College attending: Northern Virginia Community College

High school activities: Ingenium, Raider Readers, Target Employee

Career goals: Graphic design/computer architecture

Essay excerpt: “… In addition to being a full-time student, I work four days a week at Target. I have been working at Target three years. It is hard to go to high school and work at the same time. In the beginning at Target, since I wasn’t a minor, I had to close, which meant I had to stay until 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. in the morning then go to school. I didn’t have a choice because that is the only way I could pay my bills. Fortunately, I no longer have to stay late because I have enough seniority to set my own schedule. I don’t live with my parents because they got divorced before I was born. My mom came here with me but then she moved to Minnesota. She contacted me in the first few weeks but then she just stopped. My father lives in Mombasa, Kenya and I have limited contact with him. So I was on my own to survive and succeed. Even when I was working until late at night, I did not want to drop out of my school. So, the best thing I could do was study during my lunch time or at work or at school…”

Recommendation excerpts: “[Nura] has had to struggle to begin her formal schooling at a high school level, but she has persevered and managed to get good grades. She has been her own advocate because she does not have parents here.”
“Nura has never given up. Even when her mother stopped contacting her, even when her sister kicked her out of the apartment, even when all of her family – her only original contacts in America – turned their backs on Nura, she refused to quit high school. Nura has lived through unimaginable situations back in Somalia and even here…”