Etsegenet Kedir Mohammed shares her ambitions in the social work field and also offers some facts about her homeland, Ethiopia.
This interview is part of a series introducing members of Columbia University’s Scholarship for Displaced Students, a program administered by Columbia Global Centers. Originally posted on CU News, it is cross-posted here with their permission.
Etsegenet Kedir Mohammed is a student at Columbia University’s School of Social Work and is from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We checked in with her to learn more about her studies and her plans for the future.
What are you studying?
I’m currently studying for my master’s degree in social work. I am hoping to go for the clinical social work track.
Where are you currently living?
In Alexandria, Virginia.
What are your goals for the future?
My future goal is to serve marginalized groups of people in society through direct practice, advocacy, and activism on social policies that need to be amended or even created.
What do you wish more people knew about Ethiopia?
Ethiopia is one of the first countries in the world that officially accepted Christianity. Out of the various Christian denominations followed in the country, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the largest and oldest.
Ethiopia has its own calendar that has 13 months. For this reason, Ethiopia is called a country of 13 months of sunshine. Ethiopians also measure hours of the day differently from most other countries in the world. Ethiopia is one of the very few countries that has never been colonized during the colonial era.