Anisa Mohamed

Anisa Mohamed is no stranger to hard work, but the burden of the pandemic forced her to work harder than she’d ever anticipated: between remote operations at school and the technical challenges of distance learning, she found herself facing new obstacles daily. But Mohamed rose to the occasion, and with help from Seattle Promise program, she is thriving at South Seattle College as she pursues her pre-requisites for a computer science degree. 

She describes her choice to pursue a computer science degree as beginning accidentally. “When I first was in Running Start, I had to have some idea of what to major in,” she explains. “My first idea was something in the medical field, like nursing, or even going to medical school. So that was what I was really aiming for. They recommended I first get my Associate of Arts, but since I knew I wanted to go into a medical program, I felt that getting my Associate of Science would be a better fit. With that change in degree, I had to take a different set of classes for my prerequisites, which included an Intro to Computer Programming class.” 

That decision would change the course of her college plan. While she came into the class knowing relatively little about programming, she began studying intensely at the library near her home, determined to absorb as much information as possible. “I loved being able to learn about programming, and then I thought, ‘I’m spending so much time learning about this topic, and I just want to learn more’.”  

The Rainier Beach High School grad found herself exploring the subject more and more, delving into new programming languages and methodologies, far beyond what was necessary for the class. While she had to move on to other courses to complete her pre-health degree requirements, she still found herself thinking about programming to the extent that she began questioning whether her current major was right for her. After much reflection, she made the decision to switch majors to focus on computer science and has never looked back. “I felt this was something I had really enjoyed learning,” she says, “I didn’t want to commit to something like pursuing a medical degree I wasn’t fully vested in and come to regret it later.” 

The Promise program has consistently supported Mohamed, both in and out of the classroom. As a recipient of an Equity Scholarship, Mohamed has found it invaluable to her college career. “I applied for the Equity Scholarship and I am so glad it was there,” she says. “My laptop broke last year during remote operations, in the middle of midterm season. I was looking everywhere for a working laptop, and I didn’t have the funds to buy a new one. It was really hard, I had to come up with money to fix it in order to finish my assignments. When my laptop broke again, I was able to use funds from the Scholarship to repair it so I could continue going to school. I’ve used the scholarship for supplies, books and all those things I need for school.” 

Today, Mohamed is looking forward to using her roles as a Peer Mentor and a Promise Ambassador to share her experiences with decision makers and other students alike and to help people see how impactful the Promise program is for others.  

“I think a lot of students have been in a tough position when something happens, and they just need  some extra funds to support them,” she says. “In this role I can help students who are new to college and haven’t had any of these experiences. I want to be able to help people who need help, who felt the way I felt. If I’m able to help other students who need the kind of help I needed, that would be amazing.”