It’s a Match! Mentorship, Dreams and Dedication

Hala Younis, photo by Molly Zuniga

When Hala Younes left Syria almost two years ago, she was turning a new leaf in her book of life. She had previously been a school teacher and a university lecturer, but with increasing turmoil and danger in her country, she made the decision to leave Syria in search of a new beginning. 

“I’ve been living in these circumstances for 12 years…and for me it was enough, I had to start a brand new beginning and Germany was my destination.” 

In Germany she would be reunited with her siblings and have some familiarity despite moving to a new country with a new language, culture, people and traditions. 

In turning to a new page, she had to ask herself deep down who she was going to be, what kind of life she wanted to live, and what kind of job she was going to have. She wanted to take advantage of the new opportunity that had been given to her.  

Before moving to Berlin and after a great deal of consideration, Hala determined she was going to switch careers from being a teacher to working in tech. After this decision, she created her game plan to be successful in the field. A plan that included a lot of prior research and had clear goals and outcomes that would answer the questions she had asked herself. 

“This is what I recommend anyone to do.”

Hala said creating a plan was one of the most arduous but important things she could have done to help with her success and make it easier to achieve her goals. 

Hala’s sister introduced her to the ReDI School of Digital Integration, a school that she herself had previously participated in. In September of 2021 Hala did an online Salesforce course and when she arrived in Berlin in 2022, she knew she was going to continue with ReDI School in person. 

Hala was drawn to ReDI School and was impressed with the school’s mission. 

“Their aim is something noble. They want to help people who have something inside, [people] who want to achieve something but also need support. This is what ReDI School did.”

While in Berlin, she still had a few lingering questions. Thanks to a workshop offered by ReDI School which gave an overview of the courses taught, she decided to continue learning Salesforce. So she took the course and hit the ground running.

These big changes brought feelings of overwhelmedness and insecurity, but something Hala believes is that when you are going through something difficult or new, sometimes you just need someone by your side who will support you and believe in you. 

“When you find someone who will support you and hold your hand, you feel like ‘ok, there is someone besides me and I will go give it a shot.’”

Finding that support led her to finding a new community she could turn to and rely on. 

The ReDI community welcomed her and had resources available to her which included access to expert knowledge and different courses, workshops, job fairs, having people who were open and willing to mentor her. It was a community with people who had gone through what she had, and people who understood and were learning alongside her.

After completing a few courses at ReDI School she was able to obtain an internship with the school in March of 2022 working on the Salesforce team. After completing her internship she began looking for work.

Finding a job was difficult for Hala, it was frustrating and took some time. It was challenging when the companies searching to hire entry level workers required at least 2 years of experience, regardless of the entry level position. 

Luckily through the mentorship program she received guidance during the process of job finding until she was able to find one.

At the same time as completing her internship and taking courses, she was fulfilling another goal she had made: to receive higher education. For Hala, receiving an education is one of the most important things she could do. It was an important part of the life she wanted to create.  

“Education has the power to change one’s life and impact future generations.”

She recently completed her Masters in Digital Marketing at Berlin School of Business & Innovation (BSBI) simultaneously while taking courses with ReDI, completing her internship and working at her first job as a Junior Salesforce Administrator. 

Hala will begin her PhD education in June, while starting a job as CRM System Consultant with Zalando in July. 

Throughout the whole process what Hala learned about herself is that anything can be learned, and all the effort you give will be returned. 

“As long as you have the will to do something you will find the way to do it. You need to be kind to yourself, and believe in yourself.”

Though the road may be long and hard, Hala encourages others to never give up, and that their goals can be achieved.