"I am very happy and lucky to be able to find a career or a calling that is going to be able to give me financial success, but also that I really enjoy."

"My advice to young people is that the time that you are living in is the time that you are prepared to live in."

"My body was not supposed to be violated in this severe way, nor was my soul. Yet, both happened. But I am comforted in knowing that there are others I can talk to who understand my pain."

"Today, I know that the two separate sides of me were never separate at all; they are the same. They are American. They are Muslim. They are me."

“Others tend to see your results and envy your outcomes, but they fail to take notice of the amount of hard work and sacrifices you have made to get where you stand today.”

"This country never failed to surprise me by showing the generous amount of human, constitutional, and civil rights citizens of America have and how much power and independence an individual could have in this country."

"The civil and organized environment in America is a stark contrast to the pandemonium that I had gotten used to in Bangladesh. I feel that there is order in this new land whereas there was always chaos in my previous home. America is not just the land of opportunities, it is the land of possibilities."

"As a Black, Muslim and female I’m faced with so much. Last year I published my first book of short stories titled, Amilah. It’s an anthology of fictional short stories dealing with the lives of Somali-Americans."

"Reflecting on my life in Burkina Faso, I realized my current life is amazing even without Jordan’s, or an Xbox, or the latest iPhone. Living in an underdeveloped country made me appreciate the American life and the opportunities it has to offer."

"The next chapter in my life, which is attending a college or university will strengthen my brand, and I will get to further define what it means to be me: Muslim, Gambian-American, and Female."

"But just as I was getting accustomed to the country and my friends and everything, we moved once again to America, which was probably our toughest and longest journey. We came here in 2009."

"Being a guest in this country was about getting to know the culture; not necessarily how they talk and what they eat, but also how the financial world works and how the professional world works."

"My new life in America is becoming greater over the passage of the days. I learned how to stand up for myself."

"I believe that my name and its meaning have implicitly defined my identity since my childhood. This search for knowledge has been a life long identity journey for me and is how I define myself."

"I used all available connecting resources to find stable housing, enroll in school, find employment, and become a peer mentor for others like me."

"I had struggled with gender roles nearly all my life. I was a free, unrestrained American girl, but I seemed to be restrained by a culture grounded thousands of miles away – an orthodox Muslim culture that traditionally required me to cover myself, be obedient, and sit down and stay quiet."