Muna Noor applied to Carlton College, the so-called Ivy League school of the Midwest. Noor and another woman were the first two Somali students ever admitted to the school.

April 29, 2008

One woman is making Minnesota history after only being in this country for a few years. Muna Noor is one of the first Somali students ever admitted to prestigious Carlton College in Northfield.

Noor had to overcome a lot to get there.

"I came to Minnesota and everything was a discovery," said Noor.

She and her family escaped a life of hardship in Eastern Africa when she was just 16.

"Civil war, displacement, refugee camps, settlement, and then coming to America," said Noor.

Her older sister was already in Minneapolis and gave Noor some advice about living in the U.S.

"She said there are two streets here: One is you don't do anything and you get dejected about the process that you've been through, or you get educated and contribute to society," said Noor.

Four days later Noor enrolled at Minneapolis Edison High School. In just six months she was taking classes at the U of M.

"I knew about American education. I knew about higher education and the opportunities that America provides," she said.

She asked her guidance counselor for advice on her academic future.

"She suggested many other schools including Harvard and Yale and Princeton. And I said I want to look at a place where home is not too far, but I can get an education like that," said Noor.

She applied to Carlton College, the so-called Ivy League school of the Midwest. Noor and another woman were the first two Somali students ever admitted to the school.

"It's a wish and it did come true," said Noor.

Noor enrolled right after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"That was a difficult time to be a Muslim on a campus. There's a lot of suspicion," said Carlton College Dean Liz Ciner.

Noor was quick to put the Carlton community at ease.

"She was so eager for everything the college had to offer her," said Ciner.

Noor devoted herself to her studies and found a comfortable fit in her campus home.

"I did find a place where my traditional beliefs and my traditional ways of being were not questioned," said Noor.

She excelled academically and will be one of the first Somali students to graduate there.

"It's been fun for me to see her hone those skills that she's going to need in order to make a difference in the world," said Ciner.

Noor is already bringing what she learned at Carlton back to her own community in Minneapolis. She's helping to bridge the gap between Somali and American cultures.

She played a role in organizing the recent Mawlid Celebration at the Minneapolis Convention Center to honor the birth of the prophet Mohammed.

"The whole meaning of this event is about teaching the young people in our community what the prophet stood for, the message he gave," said Minneapolis Nuur al-Iman Institute Sheikh 'Afi Uurey.

For Noor, it's an opportunity to embrace her Somali culture and teach others the lessons she's learned about their adopted home.

"To say that there is a way of fitting into this culture, which is you take what's good of it and work with other people to mend what's bad in it," she said.

Noor feels a responsibility to continue educating others while broadening her knowledge in a new world.

"I don't really know what the American dream is but I'm living a dream that has become a reality," she said.

Noor majored in international relations and political science. She plans to go to graduate school and hopes to maybe work at the United Nations one day.

SOURCE:  WCOO CBS