In 2012, Anwar lost her mother to shelling in Baba Amr in Homs, which forced her to flee to another city with her siblings and her father. In October of 2013, as he was leaving Nabek, a city in Syria, Anwar’s father was arrested and was never found to this day. “I spent so many days and so much effort looking for my father but I couldn’t find him so I had to flee with my five siblings.” Anwar picked up what little she had packed from her home and went to Jordan where she lived in Zaatari camp with her siblings for two years. 

As 2015 rolled around, Anwar decided that it was time to go back to school. Education was something her father was very fond of, and one of the last things he said to her and her siblings is to continue pursuing their education. Anwar graduated high school with the highest score in the district, 94.6%. 

When she first started college, Anwar majored in Civil Engineering. The only reason she was able to go to college was that she had received a scholarship, but a year into her program, that scholarship was taken away. Right around the time, Anwar heard about Karam’s scholarship and applied. “Media studies has always been a passion of mine, I’d love to cover news and write about what’s happening in the world. So when I applied for Karam’s scholarship and got it, I changed my major to Media. I graduated in 3.5 years with a score of 96%.” 

During the time that Anwar was studying, she was tutoring on the side to provide for her siblings. “I want to give them the best life possible. I come from a long day at school, I see if my siblings need any help with their homework or anything else. I make them dinner then head to work where I tutor kids at my house or go to their houses. When I come back I study until late at night.” 

Anwar’s dream did not stop at one Bachelor’s degree. She wanted to continue her education and pursue a Master’s. She applied for the Prince Tamim Bin Hamad Scholarship, a scholarship granted to one person in Qatar and she got it. “To be honest with you, without Karam’s scholarship I wouldn’t be where I am today. Being comfortable financially and focusing on school and taking care of my siblings helped a lot and pushed me to pursue my dreams.” 

Now as Anwar resides in Qatar looking for a job after getting her Master’s degree, she still takes care of her special needs brother as well as her sister who has heart abnormalities and gets treatments in Turkey. “Right now, I am looking for a job to continue to support my siblings, but my future goal is to pursue a Ph.D. All my professors say that I would be a great candidate for a Ph.D. due to my love of research.” 

With everything she does and has accomplished, Anwar is also the Director of the Media Office of the Syrian Students Union. Her dreams continue to grow as she’s growing. She’s not only a sister but a mother and a father to her brothers and sisters.