Make Your Mark in the Engineering Industry

Mais Abdulwahab, a refugee from Iraq, came to America to build a bright future for herself. In 2008, she began taking ESL classes at Highline College to learn the American culture and language, and prepare for college courses. “I remember how easy it was for me to transition from ESL classes to college-level classes because of all the facilities provided to help with the process and the tremendous help of my academic advisor,” said Mais.

After completing her ESL courses, she then started working towards her associate degree in Computer Engineering and became more involved on campus. She joined the Women in Science and Engineering Club, volunteered at the HCC Tutoring Center, and served as a mentor for new ESL immigrant and refugee students.

Mais excelled both personally and academically and was awarded the HC Science Scholarship, the Boeing Diversity Scholarship and the Women in Action Award for her success in engineering, a very male-dominated field. She is now finishing her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington Tacoma, where she has been a Dean’s list scholar for seven consecutive quarters. Currently, she is also a performance analysis intern at Intel. “Attending Highline was a very important part of my life because it was a big factor in the successful life I’m living now.”