Preparing for the Future: SNHU GEM’s Employment Support

After graduation, GEM helps students pursue meaningful employment

SNHU’s Global Education Movement (GEM) strives to prepare students and graduates not only for graduation, but also for meaningful employment opportunities. 

Today, many refugees face barriers to employment due to hiring restrictions and implicit biases. However, equipped with their degrees and career-ready skills in critical thinking, decision making, and collaboration, GEM alumni have had great success in finding employment. 

SNHU’s GEM program prepares students through our competency-based degree curriculum, where students learn real-world skills, and every student completes an internship where they gain experience working in fast-paced work environments.

“We bring bachelor’s degrees and pathways to employment to refugees, migrants, and other learners that would otherwise not have access to higher education,” said Chrystina Russell, Executive Director of GEM.

GEM students have many options after graduation. Many alumni, like GEM South Africa graduate Julia Odoul, go on to graduate school. For those students interested in pursuing additional higher education opportunities, GEM provides resources to help them find the right program, guide them through the application process, and find scholarship opportunities.

“I am currently enrolled in a master’s program,” said Odoul. “And my goal is to finish it and become an empowered woman who is an unstoppable change-maker in the world.” 

Other graduates take advantage of digital employment, leveraging their experiences as self-guided, online learners to find career opportunities around the globe. One example is GEM alum Mohamed Mohamud, who is based in Nairobi, Kenya and works as a researcher with the University of Oxford Refugee Studies Centre. To help fellow refugees, he is currently doing a study on refugee organizations in four countries in East Africa.

One digital employer of GEM graduates is Inkomoko, a business consulting firm in Rwanda. Co-founder Sara Leedom has been impressed by GEM alumni’s desire to learn and seek feedback: “SNHU has really instilled that value of lifetime learning and continuing to grow.” 

Several recent graduates have created and grown their own businesses. Remy Gakwaya founded the TakenoLab Technology School, which teaches coding and entrepreneurship skills to refugees in Malawi’s Dzaleka refugee camp. Innocent Havyarimana graduated this past week and is continuing to grow his soap production business. Havyarimana started this business to meet the high demand in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp during the coronavirus pandemic. He employs 42 people and has provided free soap to vulnerable camp residents. 

He credits his business degree from SNHU for changing his mindset and growing his company. “I mentor others in my community and train them on how to produce soap as well,” he said.

SNHU GEM’s support for students does not end at graduation — we are committed to supporting students through employment and beyond. 

For more about our career-ready curriculum: https://gem.snhu.edu/competency-based-learning/