"But looking back at it now, I see that it wasn't really a happy life to be in."
Her father died in 1998, after he lanced a growth on his leg with an unsterilised instrument and developed an infection.
Mohamud's mother was pregnant at the time and had to raise seven children alone for the next several years until she remarried.
The family were already going through an application to move to New Zealand as refugees, but her father's death put an end to the application.
Four years later they tried again, and were able to move to New Zealand in 2002.
Adjusting to life in a new country was difficult, though it brought with it positive new experiences, such as trying fizzy drink and raspberry jam for the first time.
To this day, Mohamud's favourite sandwich is raspberry and butter, and each time she eats one she remembers the first time she tried the "delicious" food.
But starting at her Hamilton school was a hard time for her, with racist comments and behaviour from other students driving her desire to act out. One boy, knowing she was Muslim and couldn't eat meat from pigs, threw a ham sandwich at her.
"I think the biggest difficulty for any refugee kid was you already know you're different, but being told you're different in a negative manner, being told you're not going to be accepted for who you are," she said.
To this day, Mohamud still gets sworn at as she walks down the street. People point at her at call her "blackie" or "f***ing black Somalian".
As an adult she is unwaveringly positive, having learned to "build a hard shell" against such comments.
"They don't portray the qualities of the New Zealand I have come to know from the majority of the population," she said.
"You tend not to take everything to heart as eventually you see there is more smiles than frowns."
Bullying continued through her later schooling years, and Mohamud struggled to make friends in high school until she made a decision to open herself up more and start making an effort with her education.
She remembers her mother saying "your cousins are still back in the refugee camp not having the opportunities that you have today," and realised she needed to make the most of what she had.
She decided she wanted to work with families, children and young people and made her way into tertiary study for social work. She applied for the female refugee scholarship provided by Refugees as Survivors NZ but was not successful.
She realised part way through her study that should could apply for the scholarship again, and this time she was successful.
"This is the first ever time I have ever heard of a scholarship for refugees," she said.
"That was [one of] the most amazing things I've actually seen come out of New Zealand for refugees."
A lack of money was a huge barrier to refugees such as herself going into higher education, she said, and had she not received the scholarship she would now be in a "financial predicament".
"I want to say deeply I appreciate what they have done ... [I have] deep gratitude for what they have done for me.
"Thank you for taking the time out of your day to think about us."
Mohamud now works as a care and protection social worker for Oranga Tamariki in Wellington.
The Sir Robert Jones Scholarship that RASNZ provides helps young women from refugee backgrounds to get a tertiary qualification from an approved tertiary institution.
Tuition fees are paid in full, with hostel accommodation paid for two years of study if the student attends a tertiary institution away from home.
The scholarship has been running for five years and more than 70 young women have benefited.
Students have pursued degrees in everything from law to medicine, business, architecture, accounting, counselling and more.
Anyone interested in applying for the scholarship can head to the RASNZ website for more information.
