- Alumni; On Location
When he enrolled in the master’s degree program in Community Economic Development in 2000, Nasir Arush had two goals: complete the degree and return to Somalia to continue working for women’s rights.
His future was forever changed, however, after his sister’s tragic death. Starlin Arush, a human rights activist, was assassinated in Nairobi at the end of 2002.
''I had been working in Somalia under her leadership,'' says Nasir, now Director of the International Institute of New Hampshire.
''I needed to change my vision and stay in the United States for my safety.''
Nasir found a home, and a purpose, at SNHU where he became a Resident Assistant and took a job as a campus security officer.
''The school really provides a lot of support for international students to integrate them into the larger student population,'' Nasir says.
He completed his first master’s degree in 2002 and his second, an M.B.A., three years later, the same year he founded the Somali Development Center in Manchester.
With my master's degree in business, I learned how to increase revenue and marketing strategies to make the business more efficient. My M.B.A. really was the key to starting that organization,'' he says.
Now, Nasir is reaching out to the school community as a professional, seeking support for his work at the International Institute where he helps to resettle refugees.
''My goal is to engage people in the community to support the work we do here, to volunteer in any capacity they can,'' he says.
