Zeinab Osman serves College Community Schools as a community engagement specialist. Her primary responsibility is to support students with various barriers to enroll in activities and athletics, pursue their interests in academics and volunteerism, and best prepare them for their options after high school.
Osman establishes strong connections with students and their families and supports them through unimaginable adversities, such as mental health crises; loss of family members, friends and school staff; community violence; and access to basic needs like housing, food and transportation. She is fluent in English, Arabic and Spanish, and works extensively with the area’s population of English Language Learners by partnering with a variety of community agencies, including Kirkwood Community College, the Catherine McAuley Center and Linn County Public Health.
Osman is very active with the Muslim community through her work at the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids. There, she has worked with youth in the Salaam School, a Sunday program that teaches Arabic and Islamic studies, that helps young people connect and feel welcome in their new community.
Osman emigrated to the United States with her parents and seven siblings from Sudan, North Africa when she was 10 years old. She learned English from watching television and the support she received from the ELL community. She has a bachelor’s in international relations, a minor in economics, a master’s in conflict analysis and is currently working on earning a second master’s in special education. She’s been married to her husband for 17 years and has four beautiful children.