Immigrant from Djibouti Pursuing Nursing Degree to Continue to Care for Community
When Marwo Sougue was 15, her aunt died—meaning that, per custom, in her native Djibouti, she would have to marry the widowed uncle. To save her from this fate, her parents sought asylum in America. The family settled in Westbrook, Maine, in 2017, and from that moment, Marwo took every opportunity to give back to the country that welcomed her.
“There is something inside of me that always wants to do more,” said Marwo, who is now a nursing student at the University of Southern Maine (USM). “More school, more programs, more clubs. I don’t believe in sitting at home with my free time. There’s always something more I can be doing for my community.”
When Marwo first enrolled at Portland High School, she spoke no English. It was her ESL teacher who told her: “Believe you can do something big with your life.” Marwo took this to heart. By her senior year, she had qualified for Advanced Placement English. She also began volunteering with the Ronald McDonald House in Portland and joined her school’s International Club and its Muslim Student Association. She became a 4-H advocate for homeless youth working with a local shelter to secure personal hygiene products and protective gear for young Mainers during the pandemic.
In 2019, Marwo joined the Portland Mentoring Alliance, a nonprofit that matches students with community leaders, where she developed a strong bond with her mentor, a 60-year-old immigrant from India. They worked on Marwo’s college applications, went on hikes, and spent time with each other’s families. Marwo still regularly visits this mentor, and even waters her plants when she travels to California to visit grandchildren.
After graduating high school in 2020, Marwo became a nursing student at USM. She loved anatomy and physiology, but she had also watched her diabetic mother navigate the complicated American healthcare system. “We’d be back and forth to the hospital because of her diabetes and intolerance of the medications they were giving her,” Marwo recalls. “I could barely understand what the doctors were saying and thought, ‘Well, why not go into nursing so I gain that understanding.”
After she becomes a certified Registered Nurse this spring, Marwo will pursue a master’s degree to become a nurse practitioner. In the meantime, she continues to work with vulnerable youth through the 4-H.
“I feel very connected here in Maine,” Marwo says. “And I’ll do anything to help others feel the same. I just want to contribute as much as I can, any chance I get.”