My Journey from Hebron, West Bank to noon.com
My name is Aseel and I’m from Hebron, West Bank, Palestine. I’ll be starting my role as a Software Development Engineer at noon.com very soon. This sentence is something I would never have imagined saying — being able to say I’ll be part of one of the largest online retail platforms in the Middle East!
I’m sharing my story in the hope it will inspire you. If I can do it, you can too! Don’t think that where you’re from should limit you to finding your dream job!
From a young age, I loved math, enjoyed problem-solving and thinking logically. I was introduced to computer engineering and from there, I began my journey in tech.
During my first year at university, my love for challenges was the reason I entered a well-known programming competition called the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) where the top students at Palestinian universities compete to solve multiple programming problems within a certain amount of time. After placing well at the ACM, I decided to apply to Manara’s summer 2021 cohort. I heard of Manara through friends who had successfully been placed in great roles after graduating and due to their encouragement, I applied. When I was accepted, my mindset shifted. Balancing my final year of university and participating in their 6-month program required me to have a positive attitude, excellent time management, and hard work — I was determined I could manage it all!
Like many of my friends, my confidence to continue competing on an international level was low due to uncertain travel restrictions for Palestinians. Deciding to go for it anyway, I teamed up with 2 other students and we competed against 150 teams at the ACPC in Luxor, Egypt marking this as the first time Palestinians ever participated in this event!
With multiple competitions completed and the Manara community supporting me, I graduated from Manara’s program and started the final step — the job hunt. Looking back, I can admit that Manara helped dramatically improve my interviewing skills.
When I compare my first mock interview to my last one, I see a tremendous improvement. I have my mentor to thank who is more than just a mentor, she’s now my friend. We worked closely through technical and behavioral mock interviews and many assignment reviews. My mentor was always there every step throughout the process — she would call me before job interviews to ensure I felt empowered and confident. There were many highlights during my time in the program, but what stood out the most for me were the mock interviews, the job referrals and the sponsorship Manara organized to help my team travel to the ACPC in Luxor.
