SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Somalian woman, who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee five years ago speaking very little English, gave one of the graduation speeches this week at the University of Utah.

The Deseret News reports Hodan Abdi, whose family fled Somalia to escape civil war, spoke about how she earned a chemistry degree and got accepted to start medical school at the University of Minnesota.

Rebels frequently targeted schools, preventing Abdi from getting a formal education until she was 13.

After her family relocated to Utah, Abdi was able to get her GED diploma and went on to study at Salt Lake Community College and at the University of Utah.

Abdi says she hopes to work for the World Health Organization or Doctors Without Borders after medical school.