From hardship to hope: how Monib is building a career in service

Battling hardship and holding onto hope 

When the civil war intensified in Yemen, fighting erupted closer to his home and his university learning stopped. After an exhausting and traumatic period, and months of uncertainty through it, Monib returned to university when some semblance of peace returned to the country.  

He was now in his final year; and eager to finish university. He undertook his final year theory exam and excelled. But the government’s pressure on universities to report non-Yemeni students forced his suspension from uni right before he could submit his final year practical project.  

“I was broken,” he admitted. “I cried for weeks. Everything I’d worked for felt like it was over.”

Escape and a new start 

But then came a glimmer of hope: an emergency evacuation flight out of Yemen, arranged by the Red Cross. “Forget everything,” Monib’s father said over the phone. “Just get out.”

With his baby sister in his arms, who called him “Baba” after years without their father, Monib persuaded the border guards that he was the sole male guardian of his family. They eventually let him through, and he boarded a plane bound for freedom and a fresh start. Their journey took them first to Djibouti, where they reunited with his father, then to Turkey, and eventually, to Australia. 

Finding purpose at UTS 

Monib faced challenges as he embarked on his university education in Australia. Many universities did not recognise his previous education. But after going through a rigorous recognition of prior learning process with UAC, he was accepted at UTS to study engineering. He later transitioned to study a Bachelor of Cybersecurity, where he found a perfect fit, combining his technical skills with a mission to protect and serve others in the digital world.