Single mother of five and full-time college student. Who is this mystical creature that can pull it all off? Who is she that can manage to drop off three of her kids at their different schools daily, and still manage to get to college on time? Who can cook dinner every day, help her kids with their homework, and still manage to get her own homework done? Her name is Nasreen Elhadi, but I call her something else: Mama.

My mom grew up in Saudi Arabia, and moved to Sudan to go to college when she was 17. During her second year of college, she met my dad and decided to get married. Even after getting married and having two kids, she still continued to go to college. During that time, she was an engineering major. All engineering majors had the same strict schedule, which made it hard for her to adjust class times to fit her busy lifestyle outside of school.But eventually her responsibilities as a mother piled up as her grades went down, causing her to switch majors, from engineering to statistics. She graduated a few years later, but never pursued a career in statistics.

Now flash forward 18 years and three kids later. She´s separated and living in Iowa with her three youngest kids, while her two other kids are attending college. She has just decided to go back to finish her education at Kirkwood Community College as a full-time student. This time, she plans to transfer to the University of Iowa, so that she can finally pursue her engineering career.

Timeline by Razan Abdelrahman
Of course, itś not the same as when she went to college at Sudan. There, she was speaking her first language and had lots of family members to help her take care of her kids. Here, she’s speaking a foreign language with no one to help her through it. Yet, she still aces all her classes. The one class she has some problems with is her English class. When my mom first started her semester, it felt a little weird when she asked me for help in her English homework or essays. It seemed a little backwards; wasn’t I supposed to ask her for help with homework? She never forced me to help her, but no matter how busy I was, I could never bring myself to refuse. After everything my mom has done for me, the least I can do is take an hour out of my day to help her with some homework.

Now my mom is in the middle of her second semester at Kirkwood. I still continue to help her with some homework, while she still helps me with my homework. We’re both getting good grades, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without inspiration from my mom. Whenever I think about giving up on my grades or a big project, I think about my mom and how far she’s gotten. If she can keep going to college despite all the difficulties she constantly faces, then I can at least do well in school. Her choice to go back to college inspires me daily, and makes me proud of her and her progress.

Opinion by Razan Abdelrahman