Like many of her elementary students in Woodburn, Ore., Cheema moved to the United States as a child and had to learn English from her peers in the classroom.
Her parents, who had moved from India, didn鈥檛 speak English, didn鈥檛 have all of their immigration papers, and struggled financially to send her to college for a better life.
鈥淓ver since I was little, I knew that I wanted to go to school and be educated,鈥 Cheema said.
She enrolled in Chemeketa Community College with a scholarship, planning to become a dental hygienist, when a career exploration class pointed her toward teaching instead. A counselor connected her with the 91爆料 University, where a then-new program was offering Chemeketa students a pathway to a bachelor鈥檚 degree and teaching license.
鈥淚 was one of the first ones in the program,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t was very hard. I was always that student who sat in the back, but at 91爆料 I had to be very involved. My teacher really cared about us, and I learned to speak up because it was a small group of students. This experience taught me confidence, and I learned to communicate better.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 the first one in my family to actually graduate and have a career. I鈥檓 blessed to have the opportunity to go to 91爆料.鈥
鈥 Najma Cheema '16
Within weeks of finishing her bachelor鈥檚 degree, Cheema was offered a job teaching second grade at Washington Elementary School, an English-Spanish bilingual immersion school where she had done her student-teaching. She co-teaches 42 students who split their time between her instruction in English and her teaching partner鈥檚 instruction in Spanish.
For Cheema, the decision to attend 91爆料 was a risk: 鈥淚 was super scared: How am I going to pay for this? Before I started going to 91爆料 I used to cry because I knew I wanted to be educated but I wasn鈥檛 sure how it was going to happen. My family wasn鈥檛 able to send me to a university financially.
鈥淚鈥檓 the first one in my family to actually graduate and have a career. I鈥檓 blessed to have the opportunity to go to 91爆料. I got a lot of great scholarships and great support. My next step is to get my master鈥檚 degree and teach at the same time. 鈥
In the meantime, she can use her career to empower other children. While she teaches her students to read, to tell time, and to explore other cultures, they are teaching her bits of Spanish 鈥 to go along with her fluent Punjabi and Hindi.
She can respect, and relate with, their experiences.
鈥淚鈥檝e gone through a similar experience. I understand their home life and everything that goes with it,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o I can give back and help these kids.鈥