Meet Aline, Dorine, and the other refugee learners pursuing higher education and accomplishing their dreams.
On International Women’s Day, Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Education Movement (SNHU GEM) celebrates the accomplishments of our incredible women students. We have witnessed their strength, resilience, and leadership firsthand, as they pursue higher education and go on to find meaningful employment in the global workforce.
SNHU GEM is committed to helping more refugee women access higher education, and we are proud that 50% of our current students are women. We will continue to work to eliminate barriers, provide essential wraparound support, and create pathways to degrees for refugee learners so they can continue to transform their own lives and the lives of those around them.
For International Women’s Day, women refugees from SNHU GEM sites across the globe talked about their higher education journeys and the powerful role that education can play in helping women and refugees attain brighter, more secure lives.
Aline Itege, a refugee learner from Rwanda, grew up in a community that did not believe women should pursue their education. Luckily, Aline’s father did not share that mindset, and insisted on all of his children attending school. Aline was incredibly grateful for his support, saying she “kept that in mind and worked hard. I would think, ‘I need to prove them wrong.’” Aline’s perseverance paid off, and she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Management with a concentration in Global Perspectives last year.
Dorine Brown, a refugee learner from Uganda living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, graduated with her bachelor’s in Healthcare Management in 2023. For her, graduation was a milestone achievement, but also a way to show her daughter that “being a woman shouldn’t stop you from achieving what you really want to be in life.”
Our International Women’s Day video shares stories from more refugee learners like Aline and Dorine, who hope that their achievements will inspire their daughters, sisters, or the women in their communities to pursue education as well.
