Usamah and ELL teacher Bill Clark (photographed 9/19)
What have you been up to since graduating from Winooski High School?
I just graduated from Community College of Vermont with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts. Now, I’m applying for a Bachelor’s Degree program in Computer Science at UVM and Vermont Technical School. I’m still driving a taxi, as I have been for the past four years.
What should people know about you and your background?
I’m from Baghdad, Iraq. My father and brother were killed during a terrorist attack in Iraq. I fled with my mom and brother to Damascus, Syria in December 2006. We waited for seven years. I worked double shifts doing any work I could pick up, as a dish washer and welder in a factory, to keep my mom out of a refugee camp. That’s why I couldn’t finish high school. Finally our asylum was granted by the US, and we were reunited with my sister, here in Vermont.
We arrived on March 31, 2014, and I started school in September. When I started they thought I’d probably graduate in five to six years, but I did it in three. I picked up English really fast.
In five years I have finished high school and got an Associate Degree…while driving a taxi full time to support myself and my mother.
When I came I was 24, and people were discouraging about me starting high school. So, I want to encourage everyone to get an education, no matter how old you are. It wasn’t easy being with much younger people, but life isn’t easy. And after getting a degree my life has been much easier. My job prospects are much better. Without a high school degree I couldn’t get any job other than a gas station attendant or dishwasher. After I complete my Bachelor’s Degree I will have much more satisfying choices.
What did you think of Vermont?
When we left Syria it was very hot there, and when we arrived in Vermont it was so cold! That winter of 2014/15 was apparently one of the coldest in recent history. But I liked it. It is a beautiful place. So green. It was totally new for me. I was used to buildings and traffic and a totally different landscape. The change was nice.
What are you doing with your WSD education?
The most important thing I learned was English. I also learned a lot of science. I liked learning about computers and building computers, which is why I’m interested in a Computer Science degree.
What is your fondest memory of your time at WSD?
The best moment was when I graduated. Because I did something I’d waited a long time for. When I graduated from Winooski, I realized that I’d waited 11 years to witness that moment.
Did you have a favorite class or teacher?
My closest friend was ELL teacher Bill Clark – he helped me learn English and other important things about school.
How did WSD shape you?
I grew as a human. I had a lot of important experiences. I learned how to be patient…three years at school took a lot of patience. I had to go back and re-do some stuff that I’d already learned.
Why do you heart WSD?
I like Winooski School District because they accepted me and treated me well. I didn’t feel like I was different or “other”. The staff and teachers were nice to me and made me feel welcome. Like I was home.
My advice for current students, and really anyone: Just keep working hard and you will achieve your goals.
So many people told me I’d never make it and I fought hard and now I’m here talking to you about it!