During the first six years of her life, 卡丹·穆罕默德(Qadan穆罕默德)在布拉奥市外的农村地区长大, in the northwestern Togdheer region of Somaliland. 她来自一个游牧家庭，是12个兄弟姐妹中的老大, parents and grandparents to have attended school.

“There is a sense of guilt being around them, not because I am any better or smarter, 而是因为我认为我有机会去上学，有一个不同的未来.  This is not something they have control over. 我最小的妹妹9岁，最让我不安的是想到我在这里, and she is there [Somaliland]. 如果我要求她像我一样去上学，我想我的父母是不会听我的.”

Qadan weaves poetry when she describes her homeland, The Republic of Somaliland, 前英属索马里兰的保护国和饱受战争蹂躏的国家的继承者，直到1991年休战后和平到来. 当她问起战争时，她的叔叔礼貌地转移了话题. 卡丹承认，当然，在来到美国之前，她从未出过国境.S.

由于天生没有左臂，她在6岁时搬到了布劳，与姨妈和三个堂兄弟一起生活. “It’s the way they live, the physical labor, 和良好的, 我生来就没有左臂，我想他们认为我应该和我阿姨住在一起，而不是和其他孩子住在一起.”

卡丹直到五年级才再次回到家乡，她承认，她觉得自己的亲生家庭之间的联系有些破裂. “我想和他们说话的需求是我从未和姨妈沟通过的, or really brought up. 我不想让她觉得我忘恩负义，或者不把她当家人看待.”

卡丹的母亲第一次来布饶看望她时，这个小女孩没有认出她来. She never had any family photographs, any internet or cell phone communication, no ties with which to connect the dots. A void persisted; the notion of missing out on the traditional definition of a family. 无论是和其他孩子和他们的父母在一起, or learning at madrasa, the throbbing never left her mind.

“When people ask, ‘What is your family like?’ that’s the hardest question for me. 是的, I have biological parents and siblings, but I lived with my aunt from the time I was 6, 高中时我去了寄宿学校，离我长大的地方有7个小时的路程，现在我住在美国.”

Nevertheless, she is never lonely. Her education is what drives her to succeed. “我的个人故事和经历激励我保持乐观，不要把任何事情都视为理所当然,她微笑着说. “My uncle grew up like my immediate family. 他在十几岁的时候离家出走，是一名自学成才的土木工程师.他是她最大的灵感来源，因为他同情她“做第一”的奋斗.“他理解这种挣扎，理解对知识的渴求，因为他为自己的未来铺平了道路. 卡丹解释说，他的30个孩子都在上学, and because of his special interest in her, she too was treated as one of his own.

卡丹上的是全国顶尖的高中之一, the Abaaraso School of 科学 and Technology. There she learned to speak English fluently, 因为她的大多数教授都来自西方国家. 放学后，她参加了一个课外辅导项目, helping village children with mathematics, English and writing among other subjects. “If I can give back in any way I can, that is enough. 当我上高中的时候，一个来自周围村庄的学生被我的高中录取了. This was my greatest joy because the high school is so hard to get into; I felt like I made a difference.”

“School is hard for children in the rural areas. There is no degree of accountability. No system to check if the teachers are showing up. It is especially a bit challenging for girls. They attend school until eighth grade, 也许去上高中，或者最有可能呆在家里或结婚.”

卡丹解释说，阿巴拉索学校的名誉校长和创始人, American Jonathan Starr, 对她高中毕业后的决策影响特别大吗. “I know him very well. 他去美国考察大学，看看他的学生可能对什么感兴趣. 我获得了一个为东非学生提供经济援助的万事达卡基金会学者项目. 我家里没有足够的钱供我上这么贵的大学.”

到了讨论上大学的可能性的时候, Qadan received some pushback from her family. “Even though my uncle supported me all the way through, 他想去一个从来没有人去过的国家. 我的一些家人说，‘哦，你可能会皈依基督教，你可能不再是穆斯林了. But I didn’t care, I was going.”

卡丹目前是一名大二的优等生，主修心理学，辅修商科. 她参与了校园事工、圣母导游和圣母大使的工作. 她表示，她最大的快乐是知道她可以学习心理学并解决精神疾病问题. She explains that where she grew up, people brand the mentally ill as “crazy,” rather than people who can be assisted. 卡丹计划将她的一生奉献给社区外展工作, primarily with disabled children, “如果我只是在教室里，我不认为我能带来那么大的改变，因为当孩子们回到社会后，不鼓励他们思考或表达他们所学到的东西, the learning process is reversed.”

卡丹很高兴能来到玛丽斯特，尽管她笑着说:“一开始，我很惊讶. I was one of maybe two people to wear the scarf,她指了指头上那块淡酒红色的布. “Hijab的意思是‘遮盖’，所以我不会把这个叫做‘Hijab’.“但是人们很好奇，我很乐意解释.”

“Five years ago, 如果你问我，我今天所做的一切是否都能实现，我想我不知道答案. 我想从很小的时候我就意识到，一旦你意识到你可以定义自己的道路并选择自己的方式，你就能充分发挥你的潜力. I believe we are not separate from our surroundings, 但是能够保持我们的个性是我们自尊的重要组成部分.”

By Bernadette Hogan '17