Born in Homs, Syria, Nagwa went to college and became a dentist. She worked in rural areas before opening her own practice in the city. When the war broke out in 2011, Nagwa moved to the US with her 2 young children.
In Providence, Nagwa started taking ESL classes at CCRI and a friend told her about Beautiful Day’s farmers’ market program. Nagwa enrolled and started selling Beautiful Day’s products at the Aquidneck Growers Market. There, her English quickly improved as she spoke with customers about granola and the job training she was receiving at Beautiful Day.
After 1 ½ years with Beautiful Day, Nagwa left to work as both a dental assistant and Arabic interpreter at Dorcas International. She was unable to afford the steep tuition of dental school, so in 2022, Nagwa became a full-time employment counselor at Dorcas. Nagwa liked working with refugees and immigrants, and her shared lived experiences with them made her a better counselor.
Today, Nagwa is Beautiful Day’s new case manager. Beautiful Day has always held a special spot in Nagwa’s heart and she is happy to be back at her first place of employment in the US! Nagwa appreciates that she was able to go to college and she worked hard to provide her family with the same opportunity. And it has paid off! Her children went to RIC, Roger Williams Law School and URI, and Nagwa herself is taking continuing education classes at PC.
