A Place Of Refuge

A One Direction notebook. An American history textbook and a stack of white binders. Piles of various folded papers. A backpack.

This is what Highland senior Rahula Gebresilase’s desk looked like situated under a window in her bedroom. A fairly standard depiction of a high school student’s workplace. However, what carries these things far apart from the desks of her peers is what these common objects represent to her.

The tools that most students take for granted represent the chance that she has to further her education. She knows the value of learning and working hard in school. She truly values her education.

As a seven-year-old, she and her family left their native country of Eritrea in East Africa, and entered a refugee camp in Ethiopia. Upon entering the camp, she, her older brother, younger sister and mother were assigned to live in a small house with nine people. Many people lived together in the camp until they were able to build their own grass and wood shelter.

This refugee camp was in the middle of a desert, with the nearest Ethiopian city miles away.

“We would walk 30 minutes to the nearest school outside the camp,” Gebresilase said.

Inside the one-room schoolhouse, students of all ages would sit four to a bench, sharing a long table.

“It’s not the same school as this.” she said, referring to the Highland building. “We stay in one class in Africa all day. It was very hot and harder to focus in the camp, but not here.”

She spent seven years in the refugee camp, walking back and forth 30 minutes every day to attend school. Finally, she was able to pass an interview and a medical test, and arrived in California with her mother and sister. She attended Crawford High School in San Diego for her freshman and sophomore years, but did not speak any English before she arrived in the U.S.

“I came to America with big dreams of better life but found myself challenged by the English language and American culture. I learned English as a third language, staying after school for hours to receive additional English tutoring with the International Rescue Committee, or IRC,” Gebresilase said.

Eventually, the family ended up in Salt Lake City, having followed advice from friends from the refugee camp. Salt Lake City is a magnet for refugees and offers affordable housing and job opportunities.

Now in her second year at Highland, she is a senior who actually likes coming to school.

“She is a 4.0 student,” her sister Shewit said.

Her sister also said that Gebresilase was a great example to her, and by being an example to her to try her hardest in school, she is improving both their futures.

Her family is very important to her, and she is a great sense of pride for them.

Gebresilase does much for her family. She works long hours at the Salt Lake City Airport cleaning and doing janitorial work. She helps to support the family while still attending school full-time. She calls herself an advocate for her own future through pursuing education.

She shares that English is now her favorite subject, and she loves to write. She speaks incredibly well considering that English is her third language, and she has only been in the U.S. for three years.

“I have never let my fears intimidate me from pursuing education, which has allowed me to go from a beginning English language learner to where I am now,” Gebresilase said. “My fascination with learning a new language has yet to cease and I am proud of my ability to confidently communicate in English.”

Gebresilase is continually thankful for her education. She shares how she has dreams of going to nursing school and becoming an RN. She says that she feels that coming to school and gaining an education means everything to her future.

Her goals include being a college graduate, and continuing to help her family.

She wants all her teachers at Highland to know that she loves them, and that she wants to thank each of them for helping her make it through high school.

She also wants her peers to realize what a blessing we have in our established educational institution.