在她生命的前六年里, Qadan穆罕默德 grew up in a rural area outside the city of Burao, 位于索马里兰的Togdheer地区西北部. She hails from a nomadic family and is the first among her twelve siblings, 父母和祖父母都上过学.

“在他们身边会有一种内疚感, 不是因为我更优秀或更聪明, but simply because I am thinking I had the opportunity to go to school and have a different future.  这不是他们能控制的. My youngest sister is 9 and what upsets me the most is the thought that I am here, 她就在那里[索马里兰]. I don’t think my parents would ever listen to me if I asked for her to go to school as I did.”

卡丹在描述她的祖国时编织了诗歌, 索马里兰共和国, successor to the former British Somaliland protectorate and war-torn nation until peace ensued after a 1991 truce. When she inquires about the war, her uncle politely changes the topic. Qadan admits she has never traveled outside her nation’s borders, of course, until coming to the U.S.

She moved to Burao to live with her aunt and three cousins when she was 6 because she was born without a left arm. “这是他们的生活方式, 体力劳动, 和良好的, I was born with no left arm and I think they figured that I was the one to live with my aunt instead of the other kids.”

Qadan did not visit her native village again until she was in the fifth grade and acknowledges that the connection she felt between her biological family was somewhat fissured. “The need of me wanting to talk to them was something I never communicated with my aunt, 或者真的长大了. I did not want to make her think that I was ungrateful, or that I did not consider her as family.”

The first time Qadan’s mother visited her in Burao, the young girl did not recognize her. 她从来没有任何家庭照片, 任何网络或手机通讯, 没有任何线索能把这些线索联系起来. A void persisted; the notion of missing out on the traditional definition of a family. Whether it was being around other children and their parents, 或者在伊斯兰学校学习, 这种悸动从未离开过她的脑海.

“当人们问，‘你的家庭是什么样的?这对我来说是最难的问题. 是的, 我有亲生父母和兄弟姐妹, 但我从六岁起就和我阿姨住在一起, went to boarding school in high school seven hours from where I grew up and now live in the United States.”

然而，她从不孤独. 她的教育是她成功的动力. “My personal story and experiences inspire me to keep being positive and not take anything for granted,她微笑着说. “我叔叔和我的直系亲属一样长大. He ran away from home when he was in his late teens and is a self-taught civil engineer.” He is her biggest inspiration because he empathizes with her struggle of “being the first.” He understands the struggle, the hunger for knowledge because he paved the way for his own future. Qadan explains that all thirty of his offspring go to school, 也因为他对她特别感兴趣, 她也被当作自己的亲人对待.

Qadan attended one of the top high schools in the country, 阿巴拉索科技学院. 在那里她学会了流利地说英语, as the majority of her professors were from Western nations. After school she participated in an afterschool tutoring program, 帮助农村孩子学习数学, 在其他科目中，英语和写作. “如果我能以任何方式回馈社会，那就足够了. When I was a senior one of the students from the surrounding village was accepted to my high school. This was my greatest joy because the high school is so hard to get into; I felt like I made a difference.”

“上学对农村地区的孩子来说很难. 没有任何程度的问责. 没有检查老师是否出勤的系统. 这对女孩来说尤其具有挑战性. 他们上学到八年级, perhaps go to high school or most likely stay home or get married.”

Qadan explains that the Abaaraso School Headmaster Emeritus and Founder, 美国人乔纳森·斯塔尔, was especially influential in her post-high school decision making. “我很了解他. He goes to America to look at universities and see what his students might be interested in. I received a MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program for East African students that provides financial aid. My family does not make enough money to send me to such an expensive college.”

When it came time to discuss the potentiality of college, 卡丹受到了家人的一些反对. “尽管我叔叔一直支持我, he was concerned with the idea of going to a country no one has ever been. Some of my family said, ‘Oh, you might turn to Christianity, you might not be a Muslim anymore. 但我不在乎，我要去.”

Qadan is currently a sophomore Honors student majoring in psychology with a business minor. She is involved with 校园 Ministry, Marist Tour Guides, and Marist Ambassadors. She expresses her greatest joy is knowing she can study psychology and tackle the issue of mental illness. 她解释说，在她长大的地方, 人们给精神病患者贴上“疯子”的标签,而不是那些可以得到帮助的人. Qadan plans on dedicating her life to community outreach work, 主要是残疾儿童, “I don’t think I can make that great of a difference if I am just in the classroom because when the kid goes back out to society that doesn’t encourage them to think or express what they learned, 学习过程是相反的.”

Qadan is thrilled to be at Marist, although she laughs, “In the beginning, I was surprised. 我是戴围巾的两个人之一,” she points to the light burgundy cloth around her head. “Hijab means ‘to cover,’ so I would not call this a ‘hijab.’ But people are curious and I am more than happy to explain.”

“五年前, if you asked me if I can achieve everything I do today I don’t think I would have the answer. I think from a young age I realized that you can reach your fullest potential once you realize you can define your own paths and choose your own way. 我相信我们并没有与周围的环境分离, but being able to retain our individuality is an essential part of our self-esteem.”

伯纳黛特·霍根17岁