In his eloquent appearance on Channel 3000 to promote the 2023 Freeze for Food, Farhan A. shared the eight-year-long road to his dream job as a microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin.
Farhan and his family fled Iraq and arrived in Madison in 2014, under auspices of the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Madison’s Lutheran Social Services (LSS). Farhan had a Microbiology Degree from the University of Baghdad, work experience with British and American Coalition Forces and programs in Iraq, and spoke fluent English. Even so, his first jobs were driving and doing food deliveries for Uber. He did factory work for Sub-Zero Group and studied at Madison College to receive certification as a microbiology lab technician. After doing lab tech work at both Silliker Laboratories and UW Microbiology Laboratories, he was hired as a full-time microbiologist with University of Wisconsin status and benefits. “Finally, after 8 years,” said Farhan, showing his just-received UW ID, “I have my dream job.” Farhan lives in Madison with his wife and three children, who are in middle and high school.
