Staff Spotlight | Soheila Noori
Soheila currently serves as a Program Data Assistant with CRIS Legal Services.
“I used to think I was the only person without a home and far away from my family and those I care about the most.”
Soheila became a refugee at just nine months old when her family fled Afghanistan’s civil war and sought safety in Iran. Her older siblings couldn’t attend school due to legal restrictions, but by the time Soheila was school-aged, an informal school for Afghan children had already been established. She studied two grades there before an educational opportunity arose: the Iranian government began allowing refugee children to attend public schools. She was the first in her family to have such an educational opportunity. Soheila started from third grade in a government school and eventually graduated high school with a focus on Math and Physics.
By the time Soheila graduated from high school, the political situation had stabilized in Afghanistan such that her parents planned to move back to their home country. When her family returned to Afghanistan, Soheila asked for one condition: that she be allowed to attend university. Having received all of her prior education in Iran, gaining entrance to a public Afghan university proved very challenging. Soheila’s father supported her dream by enrolling her in a private university, where she began to study to become a physician. Soon after, she discovered a U.S. embassy scholarship to complete a bachelor’s degree at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan. After convincing her father—through a heartfelt letter—to let her go, Soheila embarked on a solo journey for the next chapter in her life.
Tragedy struck during her sophomore year at the university in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: her father was killed in a tragic accident. Heartbroken and grieving in the wake of her father’s passing, she was torn between abandoning her studies to be closer to her family and traveling back to Bishkek to continue her studies. Soheila made the difficult decision to return to school, where she completed her degree in Economics with honors. She later earned a merit-based full scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Economic Policy at Central European University in Austria. The day she left Kabul, U.S. forces began withdrawing from Afghanistan. She spent eight tense hours on a grounded plane, unsure if she’d be able to leave. She first flew to Islamabad and eventually made her way to Europe, where she completed her graduate studies.
Knowing she couldn’t return home due to Taliban threats, Soheila was approved for resettlement in the U.S. At last, an opportunity for a permanent home. With no existing connections stateside, she was selected to be resettled in Columbus. Days before her flight, she was concerned about what would happen once she deboarded the plane–would someone be there to pick her up? Where would she go? How would she find work? Where would she live? She called the only number she was provided by the International Office of Migration (IOM) as a contact in Columbus, and CRIS’ former Resettlement Program manager Maria Vrcek answered the call. In their brief chat, Maria answered all of Soheila’s questions and gave Soheila the peace of mind that she would be well cared for upon her arrival.
She arrived in December 2023 and was greeted by CRIS staff. Now a Program Data Assistant with CRIS Legal Services, Soheila says she’s found more than just a job—she’s found belonging. “I used to think I was the only person without a home,” she explains. “Now I see how many people work at CRIS and those we serve who have similar stories and shared struggles. At CRIS, we are all accepted, cared for, and supported.”