Yom Nhial might seem to many the typical Western freshman, working to discover her passions within the university community. But in truth, her road to Western was far different than most.
After having difficulty in high school, missing long stretches of school at a time and battling mental illness, Nhial was directed to the School Within A University (SWAU) program at Western. SWAU is a joint venture between the university and the Thames Valley District School Board to provide support for students who need more than the traditional school system can provide.
Nhial arrived in London at the age of 4 with her mother and sisters after fleeing conflict in her native South Sudan. That same conflict took the lives of her father and grandfather.
Once here, Nhial began her education, but she quickly found her experience was anything but typical.
A standard educational trajectory sees children moving up the ladder from elementary to high school and then on to university, college, trade school, etc. These steps are largely independent of one another and require successful completion of the previous step in order to advance. For many students though, there are circumstances out of their control that make this process very difficult.
She attended several elementary schools. At 12, and on the verge of high school, Nhial was diagnosed with depression. She said this only made her education more difficult.
“It’s kind of been an ongoing battle just to find the focus or motivation in school,” Nhial said. “My life was shifting at that point because I was changing into a teen and not really knowing how to handle that.”
After struggling to fit in during elementary school, Nhial enrolled at Regina Mundi Catholic College before transferring to Westminster Secondary School.
It was during her time at Westminster, while simultaneously living with and helping to care for her sisters’ six children, that her academic career started to suffer. Luckily for her, Nhial had maintained a good relationship with staff at the school and they took notice.
“I didn’t have the guts to ask for help or even to go to school and tell them what was going on,” Nhial said. “I was missing months of school. So, my principal spoke to me and was like, ‘OK, I have a program for you that you can go to where you go pick up your work, do it at home and hand it in.’ He recommended me to Jane Lucas at Reconnect.”
Lucas and Reconnect provided her with the support she needed in order to get her education back on track and excel in her studies. After three years, Lucas recommended Nhial for SWAU and put her in contact with Rob Bell, who teaches the program.
“Doing high school work in a high school setting didn’t motivate me. I felt too old to be where I was and I wanted to progress and didn’t feel like I was moving. [Lucas] said this was the perfect opportunity, you get to be on campus, you get to see what it’s like to be at the university and then she talked to Rob for me,” Nhail said.
After a successful interview with Bell, Nhial earned a spot in SWAU and has been working on campus since September. In SWAU, she is surrounded by people in similar situations and no longer feels like an outsider. This is why SWAU is so important, she stressed. It removes the stigma of the situation and provides a supporting atmosphere for success.
“Nobody feels like they’re being judged, we’re all here for the same reason. Different causes, but the same reason,” she said. “Our purpose is to get our diplomas and finish school. It’s really easy to relate to everybody.”
Nhial is currently taking a first-year Psychology course and hopes to continue with that as a major. She has also been practicing with the Mustangs basketball team, reconnecting with an old passion. She wants to continue playing throughout her university career.
She wants be a clinical psychologist, as well as a motivational speaker. She wants to help kids experiencing the same troubles she did. Her message will be simple:
It’s never too late to turn things around if you’re willing to work for it.
“Anybody who knows me from my past can be a witness that I’ve done a complete 180 with my life. I used to hide from it; now I use it. I know it’s hard, but if I can do it, you can do it,” she said. “There is nothing to really hold yourself back. Your class is no longer a burden; it’s a ladder.”