Amany Albahadly moved to the United States from Iraq in 2010, when she was 4.

She and her family lived in Manchester, New Hampshire, for three years before moving to Augusta in 2013 when Albahadly was 7.

Now, Albahadly, a senior at Cony High School, will be the first in her family to graduate from an American high school, and would be the first to go on to college.

“For me, it was really easy (to adjust),” she said. “I was young and raised here and learned everything while my brain was still developing.”

Albahadly spent most of her time at Cony High School involved in clubs. She’s involved with the Key Club, student council, National Honor Society, and the theater production Chizzle Wizzle. She is also the secretary for the class of 2024.

Additionally, she was nominated in her freshman year to become a member of Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute — a role she held for three years.

She’s now gearing up to attend the University of Maine at Augusta, where she plans to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. Ultimately, she chose to be close to home.

“It’s close to home and as a first-generation graduate, I prefer staying close to my family instead of going out of state and being lost,” she said.

Albahadly said campus in Augusta is five minutes from her house and she will live at home with her parents and two younger brothers.

She chose to study biology because she wants to do something in the medical field, although she said her dream job would be to open a bookshop and café combination in downtown Augusta.

But for now, she plans to help people with her knowledge as a physician’s assistant, a biomedical engineer, or a travel medic in an impoverished country.

“I’ve always been driven and wanted to help other people and I’ve seen people around me that can’t get the help they need with their medical problems,” she said. “I want to leave the country at some point and go to a country that needs help.”

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