April Alumni Spotlight: Betelhem Demissie, (T.C. Williams High School)

Liberty’s Promise is proud to present this month’s Alumni Spotlight featuring Betelhem Demissie, an alumna of our program at T.C. Williams High School, now known as Alexandria City High School.

Betelhem graduated from high school in 2018 and went on to pursue a degree in Industry and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech, graduating in 2023. She currently works in IT Consulting, applying her technical, problem-solving, and communication skills to help clients achieve their desired results.

Betelhem’s Journey:

“I moved to the United States from Ethiopia when I was ten years old. I moved with my mother to obtain required medical care. Initially, we lived with my aunt in Alexandria for three years before getting a place of our own. Even though I am a middle child, my siblings didn’t move to the country for seven years after me, and it was just me and my mom for those years. When I first moved to the U.S., I could read and speak some English because we were taught the language at our school in Ethiopia. But I was nowhere near proficient, so I was in an English language-learning program at school until the sixth grade.

I found out about Liberty’s Promise from a friend in high school, who had also moved here from Ethiopia, who used to attend the after-school program. While I didn’t go on any of the field trips, I found the after-school meetings very beneficial. At the meetings, I got to interact with other students who had similar experiences and questions as me. We used to talk about classes, college, engineering, and discuss different possibilities after high school.

Most high school counselors would look at my background and suggest going to a community college for a few years right after high school. But due to LP, I was able to bond with like-minded peers and immigrant friends who wanted to try and pursue a four-year college degree immediately after high school. As a daughter of parents who didn’t go to college and not knowing anyone in my immediate social circle who was a college graduate, this opportunity to discuss applications and the college experience through LP was highly valuable.”

As an Industry and Systems Engineering major at Virginia Tech, Betelhem particularly appreciated seeing how systems work, thinking about the best ways to fix them, and learning about using different tools to reduce time and money spent on business processes. In her role as a Business Systems Analyst at an IT Consulting firm, she gets to apply this framework of thinking that she learned in her program. She works with her clients in understanding their requirements and effectively conveying them to the software engineers who build the systems or make them work more efficiently. Communicating with different individuals and problem-solving are essential parts of her job and she likes to make processes better for her clients. She is grateful to have a role in consulting so early on in her career as it provides an excellent opportunity to try different things.

“My advice to current students is to try and expose yourself to people who you want to be like and environments you would like to be in. Go out of your way to find people outside of your regular circle and use resources such as those provided by Liberty’s Promise to expand your horizons. Don’t worry about not knowing everything. Be adaptable and always have a learning mindset.”

Thank you, Betelhem, for sharing your journey and highlighting the importance of striving to achieve your goals despite the limitations that people may try to impose on you. Your story signifies the power of relying on all resources available to you to question the norms, being curious about different possibilities, and daring to dream big.

As we celebrate Betelhem’s achievements, let us be reminded how valuable the impact of investing in our youth is and supporting their dreams. Together, we can continue to nurture the leaders of tomorrow!