Tools to launch new careers

Congratulations to Amanullah and Mohammad who both received tool grant scholarships from Saint’s Place! 

Amanullah arrived in Rochester in April with his wife and two children. They had fled Afghanistan and were sent to Qatar until they were able to come to Rochester. Amanullah worked with the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan as an electrician.

Mohammad is also from Afghanistan and arrived in May after spending months in Qatar. He worked as an electrician in Afghanistan with the U.S. Embassy and military.

Both men have been hired full-time by a local electrical contracting company, and Saint’s Place worked with their current employer to determine the tools they need to be successful at their new jobs. Congratulations Amanullah and Mohammad on your success, and welcome to Rochester!  

Congratulations to Yosra on her Saint’s Place laptop scholarship! Yosra is a refugee from Syria and is learning English through an ESL program at OACES in Rochester. She arrived in the United States nine months ago and has had perfect attendance in her classes. She asked for a laptop so she could continue to study English in the evenings while her children are sleeping. Yosra would like to study to become a dental assistant. She is a lovely woman, and we wish her the very best with her studies!

Congratulations to Nishita on receiving a new laptop computer from Saint's Place! Nishita graduated in 2022 from Greece Athena High School and is from India/Nepal. She came to the U.S. in 2016 when she was 13 years old. Nishita would like to become a nurse, and she is attending Monroe Community College this fall. Only her mother and sisters were able to immigrate to the U.S. Her father is still in Nepal. We wish Nishita the best with her studies this fall!

Congratulations to Pradeep, who recently graduated from Greece Athena High School and received a new laptop computer from Saint's Place! Pradeep is from Nepal and has lived in the U.S. for several years. He would like to study computer science in the fall at Monroe Community College. Pradeep spent most of his life living in a refugee camp. While in the camp, his father was able to get a job as a mechanic, but he would have to travel 40-50 minutes out of camp on foot just to make a dollar or two a week. His family learned three languages as they moved from Bhutan to Nepal and finally to the U.S. We wish Pradeep a very bright future! Pradeep is shown with his ESL teacher, Marie Wilson.

Congratulations to Malina for receiving a Dell Inspiron laptop from the Saint's Place Refugee Educational Initiative! Malina is from Afghanistan and arrived in the U.S. in 2019. She attended Rochester International Academy for six months and Rush-Henrietta High School for two years. Malina received the most glowing recommendation from her teachers and we are exciting to see what the future holds for her. She is attending MCC in the fall to study nursing. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Nirpa for completing his Automotive Technology Vocational Program at OACES. Six months ago, Saint's Place awarded Nirpa a $6,000 scholarship to cover the entire cost of his vocational classes. The update below is from his teacher.

"Nirpa entered the Automotive technology program in September of 2021. Nirpa chose to enter into this program due to his high level of interest in automobiles and to pursue a career that would give him more satisfaction than he previously had in other jobs. Nirpa expressed a keen desire to acquire the necessary skills to be successful in his newly chosen career field. Throughout his tenure in the program, Nirpa acquired many of the essential skills and competencies that are necessary for an entry level automotive technician. 

"Nirpa is currently applying for a position as an entry level technician at area dealerships. Nirpa’s enthusiasm for this career field has been outstanding and his willingness to engage in all aspects of the class has been an example to his classmates. Nirpa will be a valuable asset to his new employer and a stellar representative of the type of students that OACES produces in our training programs. I am proud to provide references for him and help him get started on his way."

Congratulations to Hamidullah for graduating from the OACES Vocational Program for Electricians! Six months ago, Saint's Place awarded Hamidullah a $6,000 scholarship to cover the entire cost of his vocational program through OACES. We are so pleased to see these students not only graduate, but secure good employment that will allow them to support their families. This update is from his teacher: 

"Hamidullah entered the Electrical program at OACES in September of 2021. He joined the program, as he wanted to provide a better life for his family. During his time in the program he acquired his Level I (Residential) and Level II certificates along with obtaining an OSHA 10-hour safety awareness card for the construction industry. Along with obtaining these credentials, Hamidullah also acquired many skillsets such as leadership that allowed him to grow to a prime candidate for employment. In March of 2022 Hamidullah received a job offer with Mark IV Enterprises as an electrician. On March 19, he completed the program and now has all the fundamental skills to start his career in the electrical industry. As his teacher, I see a bright future for this individual and I am honored to have had him in the program!"

Six months ago, Olga applied to our Saint's Place Scholarship program and was awarded a full-tuition vocational scholarship of $6,000 to attend the culinary program through OACES. After her recent completion of her program, she was able to secure a full-time job with benefits! This update is from her teacher: "Olga entered the OACES Culinary program in September of 2021. She entered the program because she wanted to learn the necessary skills to get a job at Wegmans. She lives close by a Wegmans store and had observed the cooks in the store. She decided that working there would be her goal and first job in the United States since immigrating here from Russia.

Olga was an exemplary student at OACES. She had perfect attendance through 107 days of class. She earned at 94.4 test average of 38 tests. Also, Olga earned her Serve Safe certificate, completed 80 on line rouxbe.com cooking lessons and quizzes, and completed 11 rouxbe.com courses for certification.

"Another facet of her training was to improve her English. Olga applied herself daily and improved 4 levels in her English while in the culinary program. In addition, she developed a job portfolio which included a resume, among other things, and practiced how to interview for a job. 

Olga was able to master the basics in knife skills, food preparation, and all the cooking techniques. She was attentive, responsible, and learned quickly in the kitchen.

"During the last month in the program, Olga applied to Wegmans. She did well in two interviews and was hired at the Irondequoit store, which is the same one that she dreamed of working in.”  

Congratulations to Hares on receiving a laptop computer scholarship from Saint's Palace! Hares is from Afghanistan and arrived in the United States in October of 2021. He was a civil engineer in Afghanistan and had a job with a non-government organization with a family welfare focus. He would like to attend college in the United States and now he will be able to apply for schools and take classes online with his new computer. We wish Hares the very best with his future here in Rochester!

Congratulations to Nicole on her Saint's Place laptop Scholarship! Nicole came to the United States from Nigeria in October of 2021 and is enrolled as a senior in high school in Greece. She wants to study computer science in college to work with technologies that benefit our developing world. She also wants to be able to help her family who are still in Nigeria. Nicole is an excellent student with a bright future ahead of her! She is pictured with her College & Career Coordinator, Tamara Clifford, and her Principal, David Hoffman, who are working with Nicole to make those goals a reality.

Congratulations to Shurooq who received a laptop from our Saint’s Place Educational Fund! Shurooq is from Iraq and was using her husband’s cell phone to attend her online English as a second language classes. Her husband recently secured a job, so Shurooq could no longer use the cell phone for class. Shurooq has two children, one who has significant medical disabilities, so she needs to be at home but still be able to attend her classes. We hope this laptop makes being a student a little easier for her. We welcome Shurooq and her family to our Rochester community!  

Congratulations to Ola who received a laptop computer from the Saint's Place Educational Scholarship Fund! Ola is a refugee from Syria who arrived in the United States four years ago. She is currently taking classes in English as a second language at OACES (Office of Adult and Career Education Services).  Ola is also an active member of MAC (Making a Change) Academy, which is part of OACES. In the future, Ola would like to attend Monroe Community College. We wish Ola the best in her studies! 

We are thrilled for Yiheng and her success in the culinary program at OACES. She was awarded a laptop computer in May 2021 from Saint's Place as part of our educational initiative.   

OACES called her "a diligent student who embraced the program and worked extremely hard. Yiheng conquered her fear of learning English and stepped out of her comfort zone to learn. She was placed with Compass group at Saint John Fisher college to train under Executive Chef Joel Kraft. This former high school teacher from China is another great example of success." Saint's Place is excited for Yiheng's bright future! 

Congratulations to Dorcas who received a laptop scholarship from the Saint's Place Refugee Educational Initiative! Dorcas is from the Congo and is working toward a degree in medical technology from Bryan & Stratton College where she earned the Premiere Achievement Scholarship to help her pay for tuition. She completed her senior year at Rochester International Academy despite the challenges of the pandemic. Her parents are not in the United States, but she is determined to complete her academic studies! We wish Dorcas a bright future!

Congratulations to David, a refugee student attending Bryant & Stratton College. He received a new laptop computer from the Saint's Place Educational Initiative.  David loves music.  He graduated from Rochester International Academy and is now studying network technology.  David was born in a refugee camp.  He played soccer in the camp and now plays for Bryant & Stratton.  He would like to help those back at home after he receives his education.  We wish him a very bright future! 

Congratulations to Sana on his scholarship of a new laptop computer from Saint's Place.  Sana escaped Afghanistan at the end of August and after 10 days of travel arrived in Rochester to join his brother and mother. In Afghanistan, Sana was a head nurse at a local hospital. He completed his studies in Kazakhstan.   Sana plans to work for a year and take English courses to improve his language skills (he already speaks quite well) and then become certified to practice nursing again here in the United States.  Welcome to Rochester, Sana! 

Congratulations to Ahmeddeq on receiving a laptop computer and $1,000 educational scholarship from Saint's Place!  Ahmeddeq is a refugee from Kenya who is interested in studying computer programming.  He attended English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at OACES and completed two years at MCC. He recently started classes at the College at Brockport.  Ahmeddeq works thirty hours a week caring for a sick family member. 

Saint's Place has a strong supportive relationship with the Rochester International Academy, a city school that many refugees attend. The school provides a welcoming place for so many of our refugee students to grow and mature.  This last year has been so challenging with kids learning remotely, and their teachers have risen to the challenge.  This wonderful group of 2021 graduates has a bright future ahead of them! 

Congratulations to Dawa on receiving a laptop computer from Saint's Place. Dawa is a Nepali student who attended Rochester International Academy. She has lived in the U.S. for four years. While working part time, she maintained a 4.43 GPA. She wants to attend Monroe Community College to become a nurse. Dawa was the captain of the RIA volleyball team for the last two years!