From Refugee Camps to College Classrooms: How the Past Informs the Present and Shapes the Future for Refugee Students

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: International and Comparative Perspectives on Language Education

Abstract

This paper centers the voices of four college students from refugee backgrounds who share how their past experiences shape their current identities and future aspirations. Using narrative inquiry and an asset-based lens, the study highlights how experiences of injustice and marginalization have fueled these students' commitment to education, equity, and service. Rather than viewing them through a deficit perspective, this research frames their stories as foundations of resilience and leadership. As a former refugee who also navigated the U.S. education system, I aim to uplift the strengths refugee students bring and call on educators to recognize how understanding their pasts can help support the powerful futures they are building.

Author

• Yacoub Aljaffery, Augsburg University