Upstate Medical University will award 520 degrees and certifications to its students at its commencement ceremony. One of the graduates is Zacharia Mohamed. He's a Somali refugee who escaped war and moved to Syracuse. He will graduate with an MD and a master’s in public health.

“[I'm feeling] an overwhelming amount of gratefulness,” Mohamed said. “To get to the point where I am today it really took a lot of support.” 

Before one of the biggest moments of his life, Mohamed reflected on his journey.

“I grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya," he said. "We lived in a refugee camp for over a decade. And we were very fortunate to be the few that were selected to be resettled to the U.S."

Mohamed was raised by his sister, Shukri, who he calls mom. As a baby, his sister was shot during the war in Somalia while she was holding him. He says if it weren’t for two nurses who saved Shukri neither of them would be alive today. Shukri and Mohamed moved to a refugee camp and she did everything to keep him safe.

“It was really challenging," said Mohamed. "Everybody ate once a day, there wasn’t really good medical care. Unfortunately for those who did get ill, a lot of times they didn’t survive.”

He was told it was very unlikely they would go to the U.S. When that day came, he had no idea.

"It was really nerve-racking like I didn’t initially know what was happening," he said. "They were just like today’s the day, pack everything up.”

When he arrived, he was star-struck.

“It felt like everything was made out of gold, to be honest," said Mohamed with a smile.

He went to school for the first time and learned a new language. Any time he wanted to quit his sister always told him that this is what he’s meant to do. And now, as he receives his master’s degree in public health with his wife by his side, he plans on working with underserved communities.

“One of the things that she always emphasized was the importance of giving back and making sure to never forget how much support I’ve received and how much has been done for me to get to where I am," he said.

Inspired by the support he once received, Mohamed is paying it forward to people who need it most. Now he will go to New Jersey to do his residency at Cooper University Hospital.