Somali Education Resource Center Helps New Residents Adjust to the U.S.

He is a 26 year-old OSU graduate who spent half his childhood here in Ohio.

“I am originally from Somalia,” shared Said Adam, who works as a community organizer in central Ohio.

Adam said his family left Somalia early 15 years ago. He said he grew up hearing about all the opportunities available here in the United States, but it wasn’t opportunity that greeted him when he started school in Columbus.

He says he was teased about his accent and the clothes he wore.

“It’s a struggle,” Adam said.

That struggle occurs daily, according to David Wade the Director of the Somali Education Resource Center (SERC), a non-profit organization that provides education services for the Somali Community in greater Columbus.

“A lot of the parents, they’re in a unique situation where there’s a clash between the, maybe the new culture that they find themselves in with the old culture the traditional culture,” Wade said.

Adam now works at the SERC mentoring the Somali youth.

“I decided to become a community organizer to help my community in part of what I went through,” Adam said.

Helping to bridge that gap for new Americans who are also looking to achieve big dreams.