Winter Workshop: Jamal’s journey

Today, we highlight our final Earl Woods Scholar speech from the Tiger Woods Foundation’s Winter Workshop. Time and again, we are reminded that it’s our scholars and students — these resilient kids who overcome the mightiest of obstacles — that are our truest inspirations.

With candor and heart, our Earl Woods Scholar Jamal Adan speaks to the hardships his parents faced fleeing war-torn Somalia. Born in a refugee camp in Kenya, Jamal, a soon-to-be Boston University graduate majoring in international relations and concentrating in security and foreign policy, is a living testament to the power of perseverance and the resilience of the human spirit. 

As he recounts in his moving speech, 21 years ago while living in a refugee camp, his parents never would have thought their son would someday graduate from a prestigious college in America. With graduation just a few months away, Jamal stands proudly as an example to his peers, younger siblings, community and to us all. 

Champions of the unexpected.