SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — This fall, Nabeel Younis will be stepping foot into California State University, Channel Islands to earn a degree in information technology as his journey from Pakistan to life in the United States continues.
Younis originally left Pakistan five years ago to attend a youth conference in Panama, where she worked for two years and saved enough money to travel to the United States.
In late 2021, he and a group of friends, also from Pakistan, roamed Central America and Mexico, where they were robbed, assaulted, and imprisoned.
“It was definitely worth it,” Younis said. “I just wanted a shelter, a safe place to live, let alone go to college.”
Last Friday, he graduated from Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California, with an associate degree in computer and network technology.
After being accepted to three universities, he chose California State Channel Islands, where he would continue his formal education.
The school is located in Camarillo, California, about a two-hour drive south of San Luis Obispo.
“I plan on getting a bachelor’s degree in information technology,” he says. “Once I get my degree, I definitely want to pursue a career in cybersecurity.”
Those who know Younis are not surprised by his success and expect great things from him.
“We knew he was going to go to a lot of places and he wasn’t going to be held back by anything or anyone,” said Fitzgerald Kelly, Eunice’s former sponsor. “It’s going to work out really well for him.”
Kelly and other friends and supporters spoke to Border Report during a reception celebrating Eunice’s academic achievements at Cuesta College.
“He works really hard and just keeps going,” said June Minikel, Eunice’s landlady. “He sometimes spends half the night doing his work and goes off somewhere, and someday we’ll say we knew him when.”
Younis originally left Pakistan and says that as a Christian he was unable to practice his religion in a Muslim country.
Now, he wants to bring his parents to America, and he speaks with them every day.
“My parents are getting older,” Yunis said. “Once she gets her green card, she’ll get it here. It will probably take her three years to get it.”
