Recent EHS Grad Has Big Dreams, Bright Future

“He has always wanted to become a leader,” Mariam Mohamed said of her son, Abukar. “Even as a small child, he would always ask about things you wouldn’t even think about.” 

The oldest of seven children in a family that came to Minneapolis from Somalia when he was a young boy, Abukar Mohamud has always had high hopes for himself.

“The only way I can explain it is only I know what my vision is,” Mohamud said.

Right now, that vision includes going to college—he’ll be the first in his family to do so. Mohamud is set to start classes at Hamline University in the fall, choosing that college because he wanted a school that was not too big, but would still provide a good education. He got to know Hamline while in the Model UN at . During high school, Mohamud also participated in DECA (an association for high school and college students interested in marketing, finance, hospitality and management), becoming president of the group at EHS his senior year and helping to run DeCafe, the school’s coffee shop. He was also a part of the 212 Student Leadership Program as well as a player and coach of the basketball House League.

In addition to that, Mohamud had enough motivation left over to choose Chinese as a foreign language to study—it’s a skill he believes will come in handy in the future if he does business with China. 

As an incoming freshman, Mohamud hasn’t yet nailed down exactly what he’d like to do post college, but he’s interested in business. He’s thinking big and entrepreneurial.

“When I say I’m interested in business I don’t mean working for a business,” Mohamud said.

He is drawn more to working on the large scale, saying he doesn’t want to limit himself by doing business within the United States alone. Mohamud is currently considering pursuing a degree in international business. 

Mohamud was recently recognized by the Rotary Club of Edina with a $1,000 scholarship, which will go toward his education at Hamline University. The Rotary sponsors an annual scholarship that is given to a graduating Edina student who exemplifies the Rotarian commitment to “Service Above Self.”

A committee at Edina High School chose Mohamud to receive the scholarship this year. 

Lisa Burnham, guidance counselor at Edina High School said she thinks Mohamud stood out because of the amount of service he did

"The whole idea of Rotary is service and promoting service above self and I think he has been a good, good example of that at the high school," Burnham said. "Those who were on the committee really felt strongly about him and the type of student he was and the type of person that he is. We felt that he would represent that scholarship well.” 

At home, Mariam Mohamed feels her son is representing her family well, serving as an example for his six younger siblings who may now follow in his footsteps.