I was born and raised in Mogadishu, Somalia until I was 17 years old. Growing up in Mogadishu during our generation was more fun than it is today. Mogadishu was a peaceful city where neighbors knew each other and where children were raised by the village, not only their parents. Mogadishu was a city of love with no hatred. Rarely did we hear about tribal affiliations and/or criminal acts.

I grew up in a family where my father and mother were present. My mother, may she rest in peace, was a strong lady who managed the family affairs. My father, may he rest in peace, was a simple, selfless, and kind-hearted guy who taught us to love and care for weak ones. He taught us to seek our rights through peace and reason.

SAUDI ARABIA’S CHAPTER IN MR. ALI’S LIFE

In my early adulthood, I was fortunate enough to live in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for my college studies. My 5 years as an undergraduate student at the college of engineering at King Saud University constituted an important part of my life.

Mr. Abdullah Ali’s graduation from King Saud University in 1984. King Salman was the guest of honor. Mr. Ali was top of his class and graduated with honors. He graduated with Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.

This period changed my outlook on life and shaped who I am today. One of the things that had an impact on my upbringing and social skills was my early morning post-fajr religious classes with Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Baz at his mosque.

After graduating at the top of the Class of 99, I moved to Jeddah where I took a job as a chemical engineer at Alkawther Water Treatment Company which was chaired by Prince Saad Al Faisal.

I had the opportunity to work with the startup company with a lot of ambition to be a leading group in the water desalination field. I met my mentor who trained me to be a good engineer and fostered important friendships with so many people who I remained in touch with until today. My time at Alkawther shaped my professional life and changed me forever.

My research interest is focused on developing MJ membranes which cannot be degraded by bacteria and can withstand severe salinities and chemical conditions of the Red Sea or Arabian Gulf seawater. One of my hopes is to develop membranes made of inorganic materials such as silica or titanium that will provide us with the solution of overcoming bacteria degradation in RO plants.

KING FAISAL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP’S IMPACT

It was in 1990 when I was awarded King Faisal Foundation scholarship to pursue my graduate studies at the chemical engineering department, University of Wisconsin in Madison. The scholarship comprised airline tickets for me and my family and monthly stipend to live in the US for a period of 2 years.

When I first arrived in the United States with my wife and first three children, I was only 28 years old, and I felt unstoppable. I had just won a scholarship from King Faisal Foundation to pursue my Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, so my outlook on life was brimming with hope.

In my first week in Madison, while looking for used furniture for my first apartment, I met a young graduate student who was selling all his belongings to go home. He was only 26 years old and had only one semester left for completing his PhD degree in statistics. While visiting him at his apartment with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, he informed me that he had only two weeks left to live. He was diagnosed with stage 4 leukemia or blood cancer. He was selling all his belongings to rush back home so he could spend the remaining two weeks of his life with his parents. Seeing such an unfortunate hardship happen to someone my age was the turning point of my life. I had a new perspective on life and learned not to take each day “alive” for granted. It changed my life forever.

THE CHALLENGING LIFE IN THE U.S.

My first year in America was extremely challenging emotionally and financially. By working very hard and being very focused, I was able to get through my program and make it to the top of my class. One advice I would give is to take one day at a time and never confuse yourself with doing many things at one time. Life is short and uncertain. You must earn every day you live, and you must provide help to the needy if you are able to give.

In addition, if you are fortunate enough to have more than one child, always treat your children with respect and equally, and never undermine their achievements either professionally or socially under any circumstance. Always try to balance your professional and personal/ family life. Make sure to give your family enough time and to be in their lives all the time.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering, I applied for permanent residency in the US. I started several companies and I remain to be self-employed until today.

During my stay in the US for almost 30 years, I did not stop pursuing education. I continued my journey until I graduated from Jones School of Management, Rice University, with a Master of Business Administration in 2007.

SUCCESSFUL ACCOMPLISHING CHILDREN

Today, I live in Houston Texas with my 7 children. Four of my children have graduated from college including: Fatima who studied Law at Harvard Law School and is today a successful attorney in Texas, Faisal who is a chemical engineer, like myself, Faiza, who is an oil trader at British Petroleum, and Mona who is an executive at Microsoft. They all have promising careers and blessed.

Adjusting to life in the US and raising Muslim children there were the biggest challenges in my journey. America is called a melting pot of cultures, despite its greatness, it has its flaws, just like any other country, nowhere is perfect. Raising Muslim children in America the way we were raised by our parents is a daily struggle that is hard to maintain.

Without the King Faisal Foundation scholarship, nothing would have been possible for me and my children. It was that scholarship that opened so many opportunities for us to succeed in America. Indeed, it changed our lives forever.