Uh, my name is Suaad Alshleh. I am a student at the Royal College of Surgeons

in Ireland and i'm 18 years old. When President von der Leyen mentioned me

in her speech, I was incredibly surprised but also very honored and

grateful, you know, to be mentioned by the most

powerful person in Europe. "And we will make sure that people who

have the right to stay are integrated and made to feel

welcome. They have a future to build and skills, energy and talent.

i think of Suaad

the teenage Syrian refugee who arrived in Europe dreaming of being a medical

doctor. Within 3 years, she was awarded a

prestigious scholarship from the Royal College of Surgeons in

Ireland.

I've always wanted to be a doctor.

I suppose because the idea of being able to help others when they're most

vulnerable, that appeals to me a lot, along with the science and the knowledge

behind being a doctor. I could check the first line and I could

see that I had an offer to RCSI and I genuinely started jumping up and down.

And I called my parents, called them to come over

and it was, you know, that one moment where you feel like everything you've

worked hard for has paid off. And I genuinely, you know my heart

couldn't stop beating and I was just so happy.

So yeah, that was probably my happiest moment so far in Ireland

When I first came to Ireland, obviously it was a period of great change for me

Everything from the simple things, like the weather, was different.

But I met a lot of people that made Ireland feel like home,

be it my friends from the schools I went to and even my friends at college now

So I can safely say Ireland is my home and I am used to the weather

crazy as it may be. Yeah, I'm really happy to be here.