MCC Helps Iraqi Refugee Find Academic – and Business – Success

After moving to the U.S. from Iraq (by way of Syria) almost 10 years ago, Middlesex Community College student Rafal Thaher has learned English, finished high school, opened a successful business – and is about to earn a college degree.

But it hasn’t been easy. On her first day at Lowell High School, Thaher recalled that she cried “just like children do when they go to school for the first time.” As a recent refugee to the U.S., the 15-year-old knew no English and was afraid of her new surroundings.

Today, at 24, Thaher runs RfullaHenna, her own henna-tattoo business, and works as a product specialist at the Apple store in Nashua. In May, the Lowell resident expects to join MCC’s Class of 2019, graduating with an associate degree in Business Administration.

Middlesex will host a Lowell Campus Open House at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, in the Cowan Center, 33 Kearney Square. Prospective students can learn about MCC’s more than 80 degree and certificate programs, noncredit courses, and online-learning options. Call 1-800-818-3434 for more information.

Like thousands of other refugees resettled in Lowell, Thaher’s journey has been marked by conflict and tragedy. She was 9 years old, getting ready for school one morning, when her father told her to pack all of her things.

The previous night, a messenger had left an envelope at their door. It contained a bullet and warned that if they did not leave within 24 hours, the family would be killed. Only two years earlier, her mother had lost her family in a 2003 bombing in Al Anbar.

So, the family fled to Damascus, Syria. Despite the upheaval, Thaher has many happy memories of her early life in Baghdad. “I still remember my town and our neighbors back home – the culture, the food, everything about Baghdad is beautiful,” she said.

When the family was granted refugee status and the opportunity to come to the United States, Thaher was nervous. “Back home, I thought the United States would be the most dangerous place to live from what we saw in the war,” she said. “I was surprised by the very kind and lovely people who supported us from day one in the U.S.”

At Lowell High School, she learned English, made friends from around the world, and began to like school again. After taking an entrepreneurship class at LHS, Thaher launched her henna-tattoo business.

She was introduced to the art of henna by her mother when they were living in Iraq, but honed her skills in Syria. “Between classes, I would draw with markers on my friends’ hands,” she said.

In 2014, Thaher won first place in Massachusetts in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship's Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge for her business plan. She was also named the Ernst & Young New England Youth Entrepreneur of the Year. Today, her henna art can be found on the hands and arms of brides and their bridesmaids throughout the area.

In the fall of 2014, Thaher enrolled at Middlesex. “I wanted to improve my English skills, learn the system here, and be successful in the future.” But what she found at MCC was much more than just the means to acclimate to a new language and culture.

“My English, my leadership skills and my public-speaking skills have improved,” she said. “Before I came to MCC, I wasn’t sure I was a leader. Now one of my favorite things is being an Orientation Leader on Opening Day, helping other students and showing them around the college.”

Thaher attributes her success to the culture of inclusivity and support at Middlesex. “I love the diversity – I can meet students from all over the world – and the advisors are very supportive and caring.”

Thaher has countless ideas about what path she would like to take in the future. But she is certain of one thing: She will continue her education – with the goal of one day earning a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

For more information about MCC’s Lowell Campus Open House, or to RSVP, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/OH or call 1-800-818-3434.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, we educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners. MCC offers more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses – on our campuses in Bedford and Lowell, and online. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!