JINAN

LEADER

“My dream is to get a PhD and become a diplomat.”

I am from Syria, but my family and I left when I was 14. We went to Lebanon for 11 years, where I got a bachelor’s degree in sociology and I worked with a local service organization. When they called us to come to the United States, it was exciting because my dream is to get a PhD and become a diplomat.

When we came, we didn’t know anyone or anything about the culture. After three months, I began work at Wal Mart. At first it was very hard for me because there were a lot of different English accents from different people. But step by step, I learned new words. My co-workers helped me a lot and explained what words meant. After a year, I applied for a team lead position, and they promoted me.

As a team lead, I have more responsibility. I have to plan what I will do to take care of all the work for the whole team. It’s hard, but at the same time, it’s easy. The work is simple. I have six associates that I lead. I do not love the work because it is so different than social work, which is my passion, but I do it because I need to provide for my family and my expenses.

When we started Nashville Neighbors with Siloam, we were very excited - we called and told my sister and brother that we had American friends! Each time they came to us, they made us happy because, when you feel alone but see someone you know, it’s encouraging.

The Nashville Neighbors team helped me with questions about work, continuing my education, and all kinds of things. My favorite thing to do is to hike together, and we even went to Chattanooga one day. The team is like my brothers and sisters now. We always say they need a photo on the wall because they are also our family.