Abu Dhabi Fire and Emergency Services Student Climbs Professional Ladder With UF Online

Disaster relief ignites a career change

Ebrahim’s father had a career in the Air Force, which meant he was surrounded by all things airplanes from a young age. “I loved aviation, anything that had to do with airplanes. I went to college and earned my associate degree in aviation mechanics,” said Ebrahim. His first professional role involved flying to carry out maintenance requests in airports. These travels took Ebrahim to places like India and the Middle East, which is where he got a first-hand look at what nature can do.

Witnessing these events gave Ebrahim specifications to consider when selecting an American bachelor’s degree program. “When it comes to resiliency and facing natural disasters, Florida is a pioneer. Watching on the news how Floridians face multiple hurricanes, lose their homes, and then rebuild again. I’ve never seen people like this before,” said Ebrahim on deciding to attend the University of Florida via UF Online.

Helping others through an online degree

After seven years of working in aviation, Ebrahim wanted to do more to help citizens suffering from emergencies. As he describes the deciding moment, “I got this rare chance to experience the crisis from the perspective of the victims, not just reading about it or seeing it on television.” Ebrahim then decided to join the local fire department, where he remained for seven years. In July of 2021 he became a correspondence specialist with the Abu Dhabi Crisis Management Center.

Knowing he would need an accredited college degree to continue his professional advancement, Ebrahim found an affordable program at UF Online. “The UAE is so selective when it comes to online degree programs. My country only formally recognizes 25 American universities. Just 25. Fortunately for me, UF was among them. Getting an education from such a special group of people is something very unique for me,” said Ebrahim.

Broadening perspectives around the world

Flexibility is a big advantage offered by online degree programs, but other aspects were a bit more surprising to Ebrahim. “There’s a course that talks about terrorism, and there was a major focus on terrorism that originated from the Middle East. I was concerned, maybe because I’m from this region, but I was pleasantly surprised. The course itself, the instructor, the students, everything was so objective. My instructor, Christopher Reynolds, even stated that terrorism has no religion or nationality. It’s individualistic,” explained Ebrahim when crediting his professor’s lessons.

Ebrahim will soon utilize his UF bachelor’s degree to transfer to the technical side of his profession. “If I want to be an emergency manager or to work in the field, I need this degree. It’s a requirement. That’s where I want to go. That’s where I plan to be.”

UF Online proudly celebrates Gators like Ebrahim who take the initiative to make educational advancements to progress professionally. Earning a degree is commendable on its own, but it’s that much more special knowing the selfless path that has led to Ebrahim’s journey. From everyone at UF Online, we thank Ebrahim for contributing to our mission of building a reputable online education program.