Difficult Pregnancy Leads To Career Focus

A challenging end to her pregnancy set Huda Al Kareem on an unexpected career path.

While growing up in Iraq she dreamed of a medical-related career but lacked a focus. Al Kareem immigrated to the United States in 2017 and about a year later found out she was pregnant. “It was a gift from God. It wasn’t planned or expected.”

Her first ultrasound produced more unexpected news. “They said ‘do you know you have twins?’ We didn’t! It was so exciting.”

But late in her pregnancy she began experiencing difficulties and needed to undergo an ultrasound every couple of days. Ultrasounds are performed by sonographers. Throughout the course of Al Kareem's frequent procedures she received valuable lessons in what the job entailed. “It was like a job shadow. I explored the career. I saw what the sonographer had to learn, how they worked, what the job environment was for them. I explored all of it as a patient and I liked it! I said ‘okay I want to be a sonographer.’”

Al Kareem stayed home with her twin daughter and son during their first year, taking care of them while exploring higher education options. She decided she wanted to get into SUNY Upstate Medical University’s Ultrasound program, but would need to go somewhere else for her first two years of college. Her husband, brother-in-law, and two sisters-in-law had all graduated from Onondaga Community College, so she knew where she would begin pursuit of her career goal.

Al Kareem enrolled in OCC’s Health Sciences degree program and began taking classes in the fall 2020 semester. She had learned a limited amount of English while attending school in Iraq, but had to accelerate her pace of learning while also taking challenging college-level courses. “It was very difficult, especially at the beginning. I had to learn something in English but I didn’t have a strong background. It doubles the work you do. You have to translate. In class I didn’t understand everything. I’d have to go home, translate, explain it to myself. The writing assignments were especially hard. It affected the amount of time I was studying.”

Upstate’s program required she learn a second language, and her native Arabic didn’t count. She chose Spanish, which she had to learn in English as she was learning English. She worked hard and earned “A’s” in both Spanish I and Spanish II.

Earlier this semester Al Kareem learned all of her hard work had paid off and she was one of only 7 students accepted into Upstate’s Ultrasound program. In just a couple of weeks she’ll complete her OCC degree, and in August she will begin her first semester at Upstate. “OCC was a great school for me. Everything here was amazing. I’m so proud of myself to get accepted into Upstate. I worked hard to get in and I’m confident I will do my best there and be happy.”