Her Story
About Noor
I'm currently an English instructor at Highline Community College in Northwest Illinois, a position I've held since 2024. Teaching ESL in higher education is my dream come true - it's what I've always wanted to do from the beginning. I teach asynchronous online classes to bilingual students, which presents unique challenges but is incredibly rewarding. I'm also a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on higher education learning, and I expect to graduate in 2027. My journey to this point has been quite a transition - I worked in marketing and trademark registration in the Middle East for 15 years, from 2000 to 2016, in places like Iraq and the Arab Emirates. When I came to the United States 11 years ago, I changed my career path entirely to education. I started as an ESL substitute teacher in K-12 settings from 2022 to 2024 before moving up to higher education. I consider English as a life cycle - every bilingual or multilingual person needs to learn and know how to speak English. As a bilingual person myself, earning English degrees has helped me express my thoughts and achieve my goals. Teaching ESL to bilingual students in higher education isn't easy, especially online, but I'm successful because I see my students' progress and growth, which makes me so happy.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Noor
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my organizational skills and my commitment to inspiring others to be successful, especially within bilingual communities. These qualities have been central to everything I've achieved in my career. My ability to stay organized and my dedication to motivating bilingual students and colleagues have helped me reach my goals and make a meaningful impact in education.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't give up. I know life is full of challenges and sometimes hard circumstances, but don't give up. You're gonna do it. It doesn't matter about our age - we're gonna do it no matter what. Keep pushing forward and believe in yourself, because you can achieve your goals regardless of the obstacles you face.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field right now is teaching online bilingual higher education. It's not like interconnecting with students directly or face-to-face - it's just by online, which makes it very challenging for me to successfully lead asynchronous classes. This is my first time leading asynchronous online teaching for bilingual ESL students, and English is not an easy language to learn. But I'm successful because I'm so happy with my students - I see their progress and their growth. As for opportunities, I would love to have the opportunity to teach English for Native American speakers. This is one of my big dreams, and if I had that opportunity, I would be so happy.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I appreciate all the values related to aspiration and virtue. Motivation of others is very important to me, as is collaboration with others and positive communication. These values guide how I interact with my students and colleagues. The most important thing to me is ethical values and accountability - these are the foundation of everything I do both professionally and personally.
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