After Abdirahman Ismail passed the Somaliland 8th Grade National Exam in 2010, he joined Abaarso School on a full scholarship. In his time at Abaarso, Abdirahman enjoyed playing basketball and serving as a member of the student council. In 2013, he received a scholarship to go to Culver Academies in Indiana, the U.S. where he completed his last two years of high school. In 2015, Abdirahman received a scholarship to attend TCU where he studied Mechanical Engineering. Currently, Abdirahman works as a mechanical engineer at Steel Warehouse, a steel servicing company based in South Bend, Indiana.
Ubah Ali joined Abaarso School in 2011 and completed high school at Miss Hall’s in Massachusetts in 2016. She majored in Politics and minored in International Law at the American University of Beirut. Ubah’s passionate about showing and teaching people in need how much politics can help voice their needs. During her time in Abaarso Ubah was involved in the Hargeisa Tutoring Program and Hargeisa Orphanage Center. Additionally, she started several campaigns to help her community, including fundraising for those who were affected by the droughts in 2015. In 2018, Ubah co-founded Solace for Somaliland, Girls Organization which is a nonprofit organization committed to eradicating all forms of Female genital mutilation (FGM/C) across Somaliland through education and empowerment. She was featured as one of BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women in 2020.
Nimco Ahmed Ismail was part of the first class of Abaarso School. She graduated in 2013 and received a full scholarship to Oberlin College. Nimco has participated in a wide range of activities during her time at Oberlin including Student Senate and the Student Honour Committee. After graduating in 2017 with a degree in Politics focusing in International Relations, she joined the faculty at Barwaaqo University and was the Dean of Student Life from 2017 to 2019. Nimco earned a LLB at the University of Stirling in Scotland. She currently serves as Abaarso Network’s first Deputy Director, acting as our government liaison, cultural guru, and supporting school leaders in country.
Abdirahim Mohamed graduated in May 2020 from Brown University with a degree in Applied Mathematics-Economics. Abdirahim spent most of his time in college working with faculty members as a teaching and research assistant. Outside class, Abdirahim volunteered with a refugee youth organization that served many Somali students in Rhode Island. Abdirahim spent his final university summer at the Blackstone Group as a Summer Analyst before joining Bain & Company for a full-time position as an Associate Consultant upon graduation.
Abdirashiid graduated from Abaarso School in 2017 and went on to attend and graduate from Earth University in Costa Rica. There he studied Agricultural Engineering Sciences and Resource Management. He returned back to Somaliland to work for the Abaarso Network and holds the position of Vice President of Barwaaqo University.
Maria came to Abaarso School in the fall of 2010 after having taken the entrance exam without her mother’s permission. Three years later, she arrived in the US as a junior at Berkshire Boarding School. From there, she was accepted to Lafayette. In her college essay she wrote, “Whatever I study in college, I hope someday to return to Somaliland to help other young girls realize that they can have a future too”. At Lafayette, Maria volunteered with refugee groups, and after her graduation in May of 2020, she started as an intern at the International Rescue Committee. She then spent a year working full time for Population Services International, including on their Somaliland projects. In 2021, Maria received the honor of becoming a Schwarzman Scholar pursuing a master’s degree in Global Affairs. Maria is currently continuing her interest in issues of migration and human rights. She now works for the United Nations World Food Program in Hargeisa.
