Meet Alnarjes: The Syrian refugee and SNHU GEM graduate pursuing her dream of medical school. Alnarjes will join SNHU GEM students from around the world at a World Refugee Day panel on Thursday, June 23.
Alnarjes Harba is a Syrian refugee and graduate from Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Education Movement (SNHU GEM). After escaping the war in Syria at the age of 12, Alnarjes continued her studies in Lebanon and graduated from high school. She was eager to continue her education, but Lebanese universities would not recognize her Syrian educational credentials. SNHU GEM and its in-country partner the Lebanese Association for Scientific Research provided Alnarjes with a path forward, allowing her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management and gain job training through internship experience.
Alnarjes completed her bachelor’s degree in only two years, and graduated in 2021 as the first student with a BA from SNHU GEM in Lebanon. After interning with several international organizations, Alnarjes accepted a position with SNHU GEM as a Student Engagement and Gender Specialist Associate. Her work focuses on supporting student enrollment, program design, and research through a gender-based lens.
As a student and employee, Alnarjes values SNHU GEM for its commitment to supporting the talents and ambitions of its refugee students. Most of all, she is thankful “that SNHU GEM has supported me as I plan to complete my life dream: studying medicine in Turkey.” After graduation, Alnarjes traveled to Istanbul, Turkey with high school friend and fellow SNHU GEM graduate, Nour Maaz, to pursue their shared dream of attending medical school and becoming doctors.
“SNHU GEM was never just a program,” said Alnarjes. “It is a way to see the world from a different perspective and help overcome war and displacement.”
You can hear more from Alnarjes and other SNHU GEM students about their experiences navigating higher education as refugee learners during our World Refugee Day roundtable event, hosted by SNHU President Paul LeBlanc on Thursday, June 23 at 9 a.m. ET. To register, visit bit.ly/WRDSNHUGEM.
