Not long ago, Azar Abdulkadir ’25 was a student at Nottingham High School, receiving help with her homework and English at Syracuse’s Northside Learning Center. Now, several years later, the U.S. Navy veteran prioritizes giving back to the same community center that helped her get her start.
“I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and immigrated to the United States with my family when I was around 15. That process and journey really shaped me,” says Abdulkadir, a student veteran studying biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. “My family started with nothing. We didn’t know the language, and we didn’t know the people. So, coming here and rebuilding our lives—now being able to go to university and say I served this country—it just always blows my mind.”
A Path to Higher Education Through Service
When the cost of college became a barrier, Abdulkadir explored military service as a way to fund her education. After learning about the GI Bill and the educational opportunities available to service members, she saw the military as a path to securing her own piece of the American dream.
“When I started university, it was really hard because I couldn’t afford it,” Abdulkadir says. “I mentioned it to my father, but I wasn’t expecting much support. A lot of women in our culture didn’t even get the chance to go to school, let alone join the military, so I thought he’d be against it.”