Watching her grandmother struggle with vision problems inspired Ruweyda Mohamed to want to become an optometrist. She'll take a significant step toward her goal in January when she does an internship at the SUNY College of Optometry. "I'm very excited about it. I would like to one day go back to Somalia and help people who are suffering from vision loss."
Mohamed came to the United States from Somalia in 2015 along with her parents, five siblings, and her grandmother. She graduated from Nottingham High School in 2019 and enrolled at Onondaga Community College that fall. She chose OCC along with two of her high school classmates who were also from Somalia. "I love the diversity here. I can walk around and see someone who looks like me. People are very open minded here. I feel comfortable and safe."
OCC's Mathematics & Science degree program provided the perfect opportunity to build her academic foundation. At the start of this semester she joined the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (C-STEP). C-STEP Student Navigator Lara Chappell told her about the internship opportunity with the SUNY College of Optometry. "There was an application and an essay which she helped me with. I was so excited when I was accepted!"
The internship begins January 4 and goes until January 15. As she learns more about her future career, she will be thinking about her grandmother and the problems she experienced. "She suffered with vision problems and we would have to guide her everywhere. I want to one day help people who are going through the same thing."
