Shahnaz Osso Interview
Channel: University of Nebraska-Lincoln History Dept.
Date: 2021-02-23

An interview with Shahnaz Osso. Conducted for Dr. James D. Le Sueur's Fall 2019 History Harvest course, which focused on Lincoln, Nebraska's Yazidi community.

Shahnaz Osso was raised in Lincoln, NE after her family moved here in 1998 from a refugee camp in Syria, where they had spent the last 8 years. Shahnaz was two years old when her family moved to the United States, as part of the first flight of Yazidis in the US. When the genocide of 2014 happened, Shahnaz felt compelled to do more to help, leading her to organize multiple fundraisers, speaking events, and media appearances to raise awareness and support for the Yazidis escaping ISIS. Currently, Shahnaz is working in the mental health field in an administrative role, while also interpreting for Yazidi patients during their therapy appointments. Shahnaz is passionate about mental health and specifically refugee mental health and PTSD. Shahnaz will be attending school at UNL in the winter of 2021, to study English Education, in an effort to make education more diverse and also more accessible to refugees and immigrants.

© Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Audio or visual reuse of this interview is prohibited. The material can be cited with acknowledgment of the source.