Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards (OMSFA)

My name is Mohamad Imran Bin Zohor. I am a Rohingya refugee from Burma. I was born into the oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority, a community long denied basic human rights, including access to education. At age of twelve I was separated from my family, led through the jungles of Thailand by human traffickers and eventually discovered by the UNHCR in a Malaysian detention center. In 2016, at age fifteen, I came to the United States as an unaccompanied refugee minor, was placed with a foster family and began school for the first time. When I arrived I could not read or write a single word of English. I graduated from Mercer Island High School in 2021, completing the equivalent of kindergarten through 12th grade in 4½ years. I completed my Associates in Business degree from Bellevue College in 2025, making me the first person in my family to earn not only a high school diploma but also a college degree. I accomplished this while working multiple part-time jobs and managing many responsibilities.

One of my biggest accomplishments has been creating a life line for nine of my family members who also escaped the Burma genocide. After living in a Bangladesh refugee camp for nearly six years, on December 8, 2023, with the help from several Washington state politicians, I was able to bring my parents, siblings and two additional family members safely to the United States. It was a day I will never forget, knowing how tirelessly I had worked to make it possible.

Since my family’s arrival, I have been helping them learn English, navigate and adjust to a new country, gain employment, and access to education. Now, I am truly excited to begin my own journey at UW and foster my passion for business. I have deep gratitude for everyone who has supported me along the way.