Following the long road to success

Monday, December 24, 2007

By Jay Rey NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Now, three years later, Shebule — who was born in Somalia and raised in Kenya — is applying to college. He credits an after-school program at Grover Cleveland High School for giving him that chance.

“This program has helped me so much,” said Shebule, 18. “It prepared me for the next level, which is college.”

Daemen College, the International Institute of Buffalo and the nonprofit Youth Character Development Foundation are collaborating on the program with Grover Cleveland, where half the students are foreign- born.

Once a week for the past four months, Shebule and 17 other students from countries including Somalia, Kenya, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ethiopia and Ukraine would meet after school in the library for help with their college applications, essays, financial-aid forms and SAT preparation.

A good portion of the program, though, is spent developing their public speaking and communication skills and self-confidence.

“I’m a shy person,” said Mariam Abdo, a senior also from Somalia. “I didn’t used to like speaking in front of all these people, because I thought I would say something wrong. But you learn from your mistakes and make it right the next time.”

Most of the students have fled war or lost loved ones amid the upheaval or lived in poor conditions in refugee camps, said May Shogan, education coordinator at the International Institute.

Some had no formal education and spoke little English when they resettled in Buffalo, so attending college wasn’t a consideration, she said.

“But they have goals,” said Cheryl Bird, director of civic engagement at Daemen, “because they knew how hard it was for their families to get them here.”

The foundation, which works in partnership with Dale Carnegie Training of Western New York, approached the institute and Daemen about the program and started it last year, thanks to a grant from the Bettina Weary, Ph.D, Charitable Trust, said David P. Rust, the nonprofit’s program director.

“If we can help these students get that education,” Rust said, “it’s the path to opportunity.”

On the last day of the program for this school year, the students stood up one by one to talk about how their skills have improved.

They talked about first arriving at school and how they were afraid other kids would laugh because they couldn’t speak English.

But now, students like Hodan Hussein described how they are more confident in public.

Rust, too, provided support and encouragement, said Hussein, 17.

“You feel very important when he talks to you,” said Hussein, who came to Buffalo from Somalia in 2006.

Last year, all three seniors in the after-school program went on to local colleges.

This year, seven of the eight seniors have applied to colleges.

Shebule, a member of the school’s varsity soccer team, applied to Daemen, as well as Buffalo State and Fredonia State colleges.

Abdo, who is ranked third in her class and wants to pursue a career in medicine, applied to the University at Buffalo and Geneseo State College.

Hussein applied to Daemen, D’Youville College and UB. She wants to be a nurse.

“I want to go back and help my people,” Hussein said, “to feel like I am doing something.”

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