Haymanot Hailu

Haymi Hailu has dreamed of helping others as a medical professional since she was a child, and since moving to the United States at the end of 2019, she is pursuing that dream with help from Seattle Promise and Seattle Colleges. Today she is working to complete her prerequisites at Seattle Central College as she plans to transfer to a university to continue her quest to become a dental hygienist. 

Hailu barely got to experience American high school life before the pandemic struck just as she began grade 11, when, like so many others, she was forced to learn remotely. The experience was stressful, both for Hailu and her family. While still learning English, she had to simultaneously learn how to take part in video lectures and use remote learning software, how to schedule time with instructors, and how to fit in. She reflects on how difficult this time was. “If I was in class at school, I could have worked more on my language and communication skills, I could have made more friends, but it was just really hard.” 

Despite these challenges, the Rainier Beach High School grad has not been deterred one bit. With help from the Promise program, she is pursuing her childhood dream of wanting to help others in need through a career in the medical field. “Growing up in Ethiopia, I dreamed of running an NGO [non-governmental organization] or non-profit company to help others. I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was a kid.” 

And Promise is definitely helping; financial aid from the program is allowing Hailu to complete her science prerequisites without accruing student debt, a gift that doesn’t go unnoticed by her. Knowing that she is committing to another six or more years of schooling to complete her dental hygienist training, the opportunity to attend school for free for her first two years was too good to pass up. “It means a lot,” she says. “I have the chance to minimize my time in school and my student debt, and I want to do that.” 

And while the tuition support helps, Hailu is just as grateful for the opportunities presented by the Peer Mentor and Ambassador Programs. While her classes continue to operate online, these programs have given her much-needed time to form connections and make friends with fellow students, as well as get to know the support staff and retention specialists who help her. “I want to become a better public speaker, so I can share my experiences with other students, and maybe that way I can inspire others.” 

Her long-term goal is to operate her own dental clinic, first in the US and then in her native Ethiopia. But her dreams don’t end there. “Medical care is very expensive if you don’t have insurance, so I want to help create economic stability for people who cannot afford regular dental checkups with an affordable clinic where I can make sure they are able to afford it.”  

When asked what drives her ambitions, her answer is simple: “My plan is to help people. Helping others just makes me happy, I don’t really know why, but it’s what I want to do. So, if I can do that through a dental hygienist program, that’s what I’m going to do.”