Education: An Immigrant’s Door to Opportunity by Sara

Education: An Immigrant’s Door to Opportunity by Sara - October 2022 Scholarship Essay

My father keeps all of his important files in a black binder in his room. I was looking through all of the files to find my social security card and I had to sift through a folder where he kept his most important documents. Next to his childrens birth certificates, my parents’ marriage certificate, and our immigration documents, I found two other pieces of paper: my father’s congratulatory paper when he made the deans list and my older brother’s 3rd grade report card. He got all A’s. Next to the most sensitive and important documents one can have, my father kept reminders of his and my brother’s academic achievements. I cried when I saw this. I cried because at that moment, I was able to fully comprehend why my mother and father fought so hard to enter this country

I always hound my parents for stories of their time in Yemen and they always emphasized one thing: their lack of opportunity.

At that moment I realized what education meant for my father. I realized why my baba, as a middle aged immigrant with broken English, spent so many years at HACC to get a his technician degree upon arrival into America.

It was because he was a fighter. He wasn’t afforded educational opportunities in Yemen so he fought to make his own. My father instilled in me the importance of education. Throughout my entire life, he implored me to put 100% into school and to always remain curious and sharp.

In Yemen, girls don’t continue their education past primary school. In America, I have the ability to graduate high school and attend a post-secondary institution. I am able to go on an educational track that my parents never had, and enter career fields that my parents can’t.

Education compelled me and my family to enter this country, and education will give me the opportunity to follow my professional aspirations.