Mohamad Mohamud

College Student

South Division High School

It's that time again, Cardinals! Meet Mohamad Mohamud. Originally from Ethiopia, he attended school there for 1st-8th grade. During that time, he was consistently one of the top five students in his school. He told us, “I remember how happy I was back in eighth grade when I took the final exam, and passed, knowing that I was going to finally go to high school. A week before school started, my family had an opportunity to come to the United States of America.”

In 2013 Mohamad and his family arrived in the U.S. and he began his schooling at South Division. “I began my freshman year in a new school, a new country, and a completely new culture. I could barely speak any English, and because of that I had a very difficult time in school. It made it nearly impossible for me to understand the content being taught in class because of the language barrier. But the teachers at South supported me. They knew how to teach me English and content at the same time.” South Division serves students from over 16 different countries with over 25 different languages spoken. Many of the teachers have multiple teaching certifications, from bilingual to ESL, so they can meet the needs of the diverse student population. They care deeply for the students and work diligently to ensure that they receive the best consistently.

Now Mohamad is in his fourth year of college, studying nursing and health communications at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He was the recipient of the Chris Dawson Memorial Scholarship. But his time at South was more than just preparing for college, his time was special, “South is a place where hate has no place,  I love that South Division is a diverse public school. Diversity means a coming together of different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences; focusing on similarities rather than differences. Knowing South Division is a place that has all of that sometimes makes me want to go back to high school and start all over again.” While Mohamad’s high school experience may not have been what he imagined it would be all those years ago in Ethiopia, we are thankful that we were able to make his high school years just as special. Mohamad we are so proud of you. You make us #mpsproud.

Are you an MPS Alum who is giving back to your community?  Do you know of an MPS graduate who is making a difference in their community? Send information to the Alumni Hub; valdesd@milwaukee.k12.wi.us