Working toward her degree in Healthcare Management, Nour has found her footing while inspiring women in her community.
In 2014, Nour Maaz, 21, and her family were forced to flee Aleppo, Syria for Lebanon because of civil war and larger regional conflict. Through a community-based program, Nour completed her secondary school degree only to learn that her credentials would not be recognized by any Lebanese or Syrian universities.
She had almost given up on pursuing her degree before she heard about SNHU’s Global Education Movement (GEM) through one of our community-based program partners. Thrilled to find a potential path forward, Nour enrolled in 2018 and is now working towards her BA degree in Healthcare Management. In addition to her online studies, she has also gained important work experience through her internships at a local hospital and for a San Francisco-based startup.
“In my learning experience with GEM,” Nour writes, “I have started to question the role of women in my community. When I first began my studies, I was breaking all the rules. Unlike my sisters, I wasn’t getting married or having children. I was spending all my time in books. But now, my family sees me finishing my degree and getting work experience and they say, ‘I want to be like you.’ I have realized that there is more to my life than what the world expected. GEM is helping me to find and apply my power.”
As we prepare to celebrate the International Day of Women & Girls in Science this week, GEM is committed to helping more women like Nour reach their full potential—and lift their communities up around them as they do it.
