Pictured Above: Jaser Jalghoum transferred to USF in 2019 after attending Hillsborough Community College for two years.
Aya Diab | The Crow’s Nest
By Aya Diab
Aya Diab | The Crow’s Nest
Jaser Jalghoum was only 16 years old when he was granted the opportunity to change his life forever.
After 14 years of frustration, unmet dreams and a great amount of patience, his application for a green card was finally approved. For Jalghoum, this was his turning point.
Jalghoum, a senior psychology major and sociology minor at USF Tampa, moved to Tampa in 2015 with his family. Wishing for a better quality of life, he left his home country of Jordan to pursue his goals and achieve his dreams.
“It was like I arrived to a planet that I have never been to before,” Jalghoum said.
He moved to the U.S. with the mindset to leave a positive impact on everyone he meets.
“The day I entered America, I hoped to leave a motivational mark to all the people who I will face, and I hoped that the people will accept me as (a) classmate, friend and a colleague at work,” Jalghoum said.
Coming from an Arabic speaking country, the language barrier for Jalghoum was challenging. He studied English for years in Jordan, but it wasn’t enough for him to fully integrate into society.
“I tried watching American movies and listening to American music so I can understand the new culture I am in and try to improve my language,” Jalghoum said. “I was a part of the ESL program in Newsome High School and it helped me a lot by giving me the right push and motivation.”
After taking the SAT six times and failing each due to the language barrier, he took it one more time and passed. Seventh time’s the charm.
“It was about 5 a.m. when the score came out. I literally didn’t want to check it because I thought I knew the answer,” Jalghoum said. “But I unlocked my phone anyway, logged in to the College Board website with only one eye opened, and I saw the passing number, it was one of the best moments of my life.”
After graduating from high school, Jalghoum attended Hillsborough Community College (HCC) for two years, and later transferred to USF. He changed his major three times, going from biomedical sciences to sociology and finally, to psychology.
Jalghoum met close friend Khalaf Al-Mukhaizeem while both attended HCC.
“I have known him for long enough to understand him in a very deep way,” said Al-Mukhaizeem, a senior finance major at the University of Tampa. “Jaser was always there for me and helped me in facing many obstacles. I will always remember it of him.”
Courtesy of Jaser Jalghoum
As soon as he transferred to USF, Jalghoum lived through a traumatic event and was not able to go to class, or study for any of his courses. Despite that, he came out of his experience with more resilience and determination to succeed and was able to raise his GPA from 1.5 to 3.4.
“At USF, I failed the first semester due to a traumatic event that happened to me, but all the hard work taught me to be patient, and to outsmart the classical educational system,” Jalghoum said. “I think it’s important to always think out of the box that you’re living in since the classical educational system is a nightmare for students because it does nothing but limit them.”
Failing didn’t faze him. He was set on graduating on time and achieving his goals. After losing about three college semesters, Jalghoum sought a way to compensate for the lost time.
“As cliché as this sounds, I believe that nothing is impossible,” he said. “After looking and asking around for too long, I found a way to take classes simultaneously in other universities like HCC and UCF, while being enrolled as a full-time student at USF.”
Last summer, he took 31 credit hours. This semester, he is taking 30. He was able to make up for the time he lost and is on track to graduate on time. To him, this was the perfect solution.
Lillian Jalghoum, Jaser’s sister, described change as a “a small word to define a person who moved to a really new start.”
“For me, I will always see him as my idol,” said Lillian Jalghoum, a sophomore biomedical sciences major at USF Tampa. “If he puts something in his mind he will work for it and make it come true no matter what happens.”
At 16, Jalghoum left Amman in a hurry and wasn’t fully able to comprehend what was in store for him. He embarked on a journey that was, and still is, life changing. After five years, he described his feelings as “surreal.” He feels blessed and thankful for the opportunities that came his way.
After graduating this fall, he plans to pursue dentistry. Jalghoum is also applying to a master’s degree program to keep himself busy in his gap year while he prepares for the Dental Admission Test.
“Moving to America transformed my whole life,” Jalghoum said. “Now I can take solid steps with better confidence and I am so thankful and I will always appreciate this opportunity. As an immigrant, I am eager to start working in America as a dentist in the next couple of years.”
