Raghad's Second Chance Story

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 Hi folks, thanks for tuning in on your host, Trisha Friedman.

spk_0 This is our second in a series of three conversations with students who have partnered, collaborated

spk_0 with nonprofit organization, Second Chance.

spk_0 Now if you missed last week's episode, I'm just going to remind you that Second Chance

spk_0 connects with brilliant low income students from around the world.

spk_0 These are incredible students that they risk being left behind not for a lack of talent,

spk_0 but for lack of financial means to accept their college admissions offers.

spk_0 In each April, Second Chance steps into action at the final hour of the admission cycle,

spk_0 they identify a cohort of extraordinary students and then connect them with full scholarships

spk_0 and leading universities worldwide.

spk_0 This week we are bringing you a conversation from one such extraordinary student before

spk_0 we do.

spk_0 Here is a reminder from Founder and CEO of Second Chance, letting us know how we might step

spk_0 up to support them this September.

spk_0 Thanks for listening everyone.

spk_0 My name is Joan Liu and I'm the Founder and Executive Director of Second Chance at

spk_0 Higher Education.

spk_0 There are several ways that you can support the students that you've just learned about.

spk_0 First, if you'd like to sponsor a flight, for example, you can donate to this cause by

spk_0 going to our website.

spk_0 Second, if you'd like to support a student through advising, we are looking for some advisors

spk_0 and specifically experienced college counselors who have worked with international students

spk_0 before.

spk_0 Go to our website to learn a little bit more about this.

spk_0 And finally, we are looking for folks who understand how to fundraise effectively and

spk_0 we would love your advice.

spk_0 If you'd like to give us a half hour or an hour of your time, please feel to write to

spk_0 us and we will be in touch with you.

spk_0 Thank you so much for listening and thanks for your interest in Second Chance at Higher

spk_0 Education.

spk_0 And now let's hop into the discussion.

spk_0 Hello, my name is Reved and I am a first year here on student at Western University in

spk_0 Canada.

spk_0 I'm doing an organizational studies with an all-specialization in finance and here's my second chance

spk_0 story.

spk_0 So I originally from Syria and I lived there my whole life and I really wanted to study

spk_0 abroad ever since I started high school.

spk_0 I had this in plan.

spk_0 But the reality of studying in Syria is that like nobody tries to apply abroad.

spk_0 So it was the whole new concept that I needed to figure out by myself.

spk_0 There was no other students applying abroad like me.

spk_0 So I felt really lost trying to understand how to apply to units because it's so different

spk_0 from the Syrian system.

spk_0 So it was just multiple tries of me just trying to figure out a program to help me and I

spk_0 eventually landed a program called Don Network that wanted to help Syrian women to get higher

spk_0 education and I was selected with other three girls from all the country to help us apply

spk_0 and it started when I was in 10th grade and it just gradually got more and more intensive

spk_0 and fast-paced until the senior year where I applied to 20 unis in the US.

spk_0 I did apply to Canada at all and it was a really tough process because we needed to figure

spk_0 out a uni that will help me financially but at the same time would be considered enough

spk_0 to understand how different Syria is from the American system.

spk_0 So yeah and eventually in March I got all the results back and I got rejected from 17

spk_0 of them and then I got waitlisted from the IVs, I got a waitlisted from Colombia, I got

spk_0 waitlisted from UPEN and I got waitlisted from Duke as well which was my dream uni.

spk_0 I felt it was a weird feeling because I felt like they did want me however there was some

spk_0 kind of difficulty that they felt that I might not be able to come or something like that.

spk_0 So it was a very tough position to be in and I felt really lost because I really did not

spk_0 want to have my uni experience in Syria, I wanted to explore the world and that's when

spk_0 my advisor at Don Network mentioned second shelf and they mentioned that it's like somewhat

spk_0 of a late decision instead of a nerdy decision where they help you get to uni however it

spk_0 might not be in the US.

spk_0 I didn't mind that, I wanted to go for the experience now for the US dream whatsoever.

spk_0 So I applied and then I did get a response back and they did accept me.

spk_0 We were I think 40, 45 students out of 300 I got accepted and at the beginning I felt like

spk_0 it was also weird we got added to a WhatsApp chat I didn't know anything there was a lot of

spk_0 people from different countries there was like literally people from everywhere people like from

spk_0 all places in Africa people from the Middle East people from Russia it was everywhere and then I

spk_0 remember I asked Mrs. John was like we're going to do an informational sessions so why don't

spk_0 you just try to search those unies up before we start so I remember asking her a question

spk_0 I'm like just telling her a message and she said that she liked my video from the application

spk_0 and I feel like that was the first moment where I felt like those people know us by the name

spk_0 and they know our stories by the name and they care about us individually and I really

spk_0 appreciated that so I felt like I regained my confidence back and then it was really fast

spk_0 based really intense like the informational sessions getting to know all the unies understanding

spk_0 your financial capability with your mentor and then eventually applying to the unies I was able

spk_0 because of my financial capabilities but also the same time because of my academic interests I was

spk_0 able to apply to I think for unies you are on in Canada two unies in the US and I guess one in

spk_0 Hong Kong and then I got my acceptance at here on university so that was my start your second

spk_0 chance what a story and amazing how much happens before you're actually you know where you are now

spk_0 in your university so many emotional highs and lows and I'm sure parts of that journey some of

spk_0 it felt very fast as you said intense and then other parts it was like oh my gosh I'm waiting

spk_0 I really appreciated what you said about the personal touch because it is of course like your life

spk_0 that you're talking about and my understanding of second chance is that also when students like

spk_0 yourself are brought into that program it's because they see you as a changemaker they understand

spk_0 the potential that you have and I'm wondering now that you're in university that you're embarking

spk_0 on thinking about okay what do I do with this education how do you see your studies supporting you

spk_0 as a changemaker you mentioned you have one foot into very different academic worlds and I kind of

spk_0 wonder where you see them merging awesome yeah I totally agree with you I think everyone is

spk_0 second chance like I was entering a second chance as like a part of the outreach where we like

spk_0 talk to alumni trying to educate students about second chance general and institutions so I did get

spk_0 to know and hear their stories as well and all of them have the potential to be great change makers

spk_0 they feel it in the bone they want to help they want to be impactful not just in their unies and

spk_0 campuses but in real life actions how I feel like it's helping me right now first of all

spk_0 the opportunities that I can get in my in my uni first of all but second in the country itself

spk_0 is what makes me so motivated to help it's because in Syria I think the potential was in me

spk_0 ever since I wasn't Syria however it was really hard to create a change in that community where there's

spk_0 a hundred other things to care about and other problems however this country and the institution

spk_0 that I'm in right now cares about this change advocate for it so I can't be more grateful to be here

spk_0 and to be with people who understand that I want to create an impact and help me it might be the

spk_0 mentors for example we have great tight net community here at Iran there's a lot of people

spk_0 upper-years faculty that are happy to help happy to show you how things supposed to be done

spk_0 and how to make you and if you want to volunteer or be involved in anything that you like there's

spk_0 always an organization that can motivate you and help you so I'd say first of all the opportunity

spk_0 that you can get from the higher education second is the fact that once you're just once you really

spk_0 were longing for a shot for someone to believe in you and to give you this opportunity and you

spk_0 finally get it which is every second chance student story you want to do something you have this

spk_0 urge inside of you to not just take it and leave you have to give it back so I think we just

spk_0 be part of this community where everyone has felt this change like this change my life right so I

spk_0 and I've run forever grateful for it so just me understanding the feeling of someone believing in

spk_0 me and giving me the shot it just incentivized me to keep doing that and be actually impactful to

spk_0 other people's lives because I understand how important it is that aspect about its people who

spk_0 change one another's lives like on the surface I know that sounds very simple but it's very powerful

spk_0 to really understand and as you were talking about your current environment and folks who are

spk_0 supporting you is there a member of faculty or professor who comes to mind where you're thinking okay

spk_0 you've told us a little bit about the beginnings of your second chance journey this part of it that

spk_0 you're in right now or this chapter it's also going to be those folks who are a part of the

spk_0 directions the ways that you are continuing to want to take that motivation is there a course or

spk_0 something that comes to mind where you're saying like okay this also is changing me this is really

spk_0 a part of what I'm going to remember of these formative years yeah so I wanted so I wanted to do

spk_0 finance essentially ever since I came to here on because I'm really interested in the academic

spk_0 aspect a bit however and my first year in the first semester I got to know introduction to global

spk_0 development and I got to know what does it mean to be a devolved country what does it mean to be

spk_0 a developing country to what how we measure success how we do we measure development and I think

spk_0 it opened my eyes a lot to how different communities view each other so really like that and when

spk_0 it comes to like faculty name I'm still actually discovering I'm still contacting with a lot of

spk_0 professors but right now I'm I want to do a minor in in entrepreneurship so professor Matt

spk_0 Bayesley is the one that actually really incentivized me to go there and try to discover right now

spk_0 yeah that's that's great and again like it's just the passion that you have and that it's still

spk_0 early days is wonderful part of these conversations is to hopefully help others understand the work

spk_0 that second chance does but also how they do it because you touched on this and everybody that

spk_0 I talked to that has anything to do with second chance they talk about like the compassionate side

spk_0 the things that sometimes are labeled as soft skills which I think it's like the big skills

spk_0 what do you wish more people knew about second chance and perhaps not only the work they do but

spk_0 also I love that you're thinking about entrepreneurship what do you maybe see from them in terms of

spk_0 the way they lead that maybe is useful for you in that frame yeah I I told today you with you I think

spk_0 understanding people's stories and being compassionate to that story is such a powerful skill to

spk_0 have as an individual being able to see other stories and understand where they came from I think

spk_0 it's so important to understand the context of where people came from because you understand

spk_0 why did they do certain stuff and once you understand the story behind it you're able to make

spk_0 sense of what motivates them I think one of the things that people should know about second chance

spk_0 is that those people fought really hard to get to the place that they are in right now everything

spk_0 that they've done they didn't get it easily they fought really hard they contacted multiple

spk_0 institutions they applied to multiple applications to multiple scholarships to get something that other

spk_0 people take for granted right they don't have to think about it so understanding and that's just

spk_0 that's the story of every second chance child every student second chance has their own experience

spk_0 of how they manage to figure things out on their own and be responsible of themselves every so I think

spk_0 just understanding the context of how much we really don't take this for granted and how much we

spk_0 really appreciate every opportunity given to us is really important to know about second chance

spk_0 because that way you'll know that those people will do everything to get to the place

spk_0 that they want to be because this teaches how to be resilient right against everything so yeah

spk_0 that's the first thing they want people to know about it we really fought a lot to be here and

spk_0 second chance students are people who participated in the Olympics people who are national debaters

spk_0 people who have got amazing people who are like one percent top one percent in the nation in the

spk_0 national leaving exams there are people who are literally did everything and anything with not

spk_0 a lot of resources to work with and they were able to achieve that much they didn't get the best

spk_0 education maybe during high school they didn't get the best resources but they still managed to get

spk_0 amazing works yeah and then if you look at the current experiences for current second chance students

spk_0 who are currently in institutional educational institutions in general they're doing amazing everyone

spk_0 is so involved on campus everyone is trying to learn from all the faculty and all the professors

spk_0 they're so involved for example if you talk to any student in Hong Kong they are so involved in the

spk_0 community there that Hong Kong University at Hong Kong universities in general every year take a

spk_0 lot of second chance students because they love how involved they are so we really do make an

spk_0 impact in every educational institution we go to that's from the previous experiences with

spk_0 the second chance students and we really fight a lot to be to the place that we are in right now

spk_0 I wonder how also that context when you are immersed in a group where folks are saying I do not

spk_0 want to waste this opportunity I want to make the most of it campus life I think for any college

spk_0 or university there's like such a wide range of different things that you can get involved in

spk_0 I wonder to what extent you hear other students talking about I went to this thing or I tried

spk_0 that club or this event that the name of it maybe doesn't sound that interesting but wow this was

spk_0 huge to what extent do you almost feel like that external network is making you think differently

spk_0 about your day-to-day what you want to do on campus yourself you mean like students here

spk_0 I think it's really okay uni in general is sometimes can be overwhelming however I'm someone

spk_0 who's so social I'd love to talk to people so I take it I prefer to take it with curiosity to

spk_0 understand why would they choose something like that or understand the context of what their

spk_0 interests might be because for example I one of my friends what is part of the whisk one of the

spk_0 whisk club club here in Canada and it's basically like to hall refugee students get to Canada and

spk_0 get higher education so it's like a service organization and we have a club here at Huron I did not

spk_0 know about that I did not know that Canada have a yearly like program that hall refugee students

spk_0 get higher education here so approaching it with curiosity and trying to understand the story of

spk_0 that club maybe or why would they choose something like that I think is really helpful to figure out

spk_0 if you want to be part of it but judging if that might be beneficial or not interesting or not

spk_0 before doing it is not something I want from my unique experience for example this year I got

spk_0 to be part of the director of a advocacy in that club and I'm running for the VP in the second year

spk_0 so I'm really happy that I got the chance to be curious about it and ask about it more

spk_0 I get the sense you could almost major in anything like I definitely I feel like maybe you're

spk_0 going to go into human behavior or psychology thank you so much for sharing your story I know that

spk_0 you're on LinkedIn and I know that folks I'm just speaking for myself here will be really interested

spk_0 to see what you do in the years to come is that a good space to follow up and see again how you

spk_0 merge all these different passions yes I'm definitely starting to navigate LinkedIn more and more

spk_0 but it's a great place to be and I'm starting to update it more and more so I'd love to contact

spk_0 and I'd love to share my story more and more yet thank you for your time today and yeah

spk_0 congratulations and thank you for the reminder that that idea of really engaging and

spk_0 appreciating what it means to be surrounded by people who are fighting and who really are like

spk_0 resilience gets tossed around a lot but what real resilience actually is thank you so much thank

spk_0 you so much for having me thanks for tuning into this conversation if you appreciated that intro

spk_0 and outro music it was creative by another student who collaborated with second chance Oscar

spk_0 Dualli if you would like to learn more about the work that second chance does please head over to

spk_0 show notes or go directly to www.secondchance.global

Raghad's Second Chance Story

Interactive Transcript

Topics Covered

Related Episodes

Win New Hampshire | 10

Why a University Proactively Sought a Merger

Welcome to Astronomy 161

Want to Speak Real Japanese? Get our Free Travel Survival Course Today!

Share Episode