Nabila discusses her experience from interning at WRQC to becoming a full-time Employment Team Assistance and taking on more roles in the organization. She shares the differences in being an intern versus an employee, and how the WRQC mission, team and the families the organization serves inspired her to change her career path.  

“When you give, you forget but I receive, I remember.” 

These were the words that echoed through the room that made Nabila realize just how great the impact World Relief Quad Cities has on the life of many refugees.  

“Sometimes you don’t think much of what you’ve done. I would drive a person to an appointment or fill out an application, and think my day has been unproductive, but it means so much in the long run,” Nabila Saam stated.  

Nabila joined the WRQC team as an Employment Specialist Intern in Spring 2024 while studying biology at Augustana College.  

Throughout her internship, Nabila would spend the first half of her day attending classes and the second half shadowing the Employment team.  

Nabila described her internship experience as “fun,” doing paperwork, applications, case notes, and often shadowing along the Employment team for job interviews and orientations. 

Navigating change

“When I take clients to interviews, I’ve witnessed some HR people are so helpful,” she said. “Other employers aren’t familiar with working with refugees, and it can be challenging,” she continued.  

“I see that, and I want to work in HR for a manufacturer like John Deere. I want to be able to help with translations and provide resources,” she continued. 

This routine helped Nabila decide that she was ready to change her career path and move on from biology.  

“I declared International Business as my major because I wanted to do Human Resources,” she stated.   

After changing her college major, Nabila was also given the opportunity to come back as an employee after her internship concluded.  

Nabila took this opportunity and applied for the job as soon as it opened. She spent the summer working full-time as the Employment Team Assistant.  

Hands-on Impact

Her transition from an intern to an employee was an eye-opening experience as she fully ingrained herself in the role rather than just shadowing.  

“When I transitioned into working full-time, I saw that the team were up so early and already taking clients to interviews, work, appointments. Going from intern to working, I see how much work they do,” Nabila stated.  

“As an intern I got to just shadow, I didn’t have clients. Now I have people texting me, asking me questions,” she continued.  

As an assistant to the Employment team, Nabila also got to work alongside Refugee Career Pathways (RCP), a program that supports refugees in continuing their education or career.  

“I met a person who doesn’t know what to do, and I got him introduced to RCP, they aren’t thinking long term, just survival mode. But the programs give them the opportunity to support what they want to do,” Nabila stated.  

“For the families to see that we can help, and to see them motivated to pursue higher education or a career is one of the most rewarding aspects of what we do,” she continued.  

With the fall semester underway, Nabila recently became one of the Employment Specialists working part-time while attending classes and pursuing a career in Human Resources.

If you are interested in interning with World Relief Quad Cities, contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Sam Sancen at ssancen@wr.org. 

Kler Soe is the Communications Specialist at World Relief Quad Cities. She joined the team after graduating from St. Ambrose University in May of 2023 with a degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communication. As a refugee herself, she hopes to bring awareness to World Relief’s work through stories.