When Yasmeen Hawatmeh crossed the stage at graduation last month, she did so with her mother’s words painted across her cap: just nafas. "Just breathe," in Arabic.

Her mother was not with her in body, but Hawatmeh made sure she was there in spirit, as her father, brother, extended family, and friends witnessed her triumph. 

“My journey hasn’t been easy, but every challenge has shaped me into someone who’s resilient, focused, and deeply committed to making a difference,” she said. “Being in a wheelchair hasn’t stopped me, but it’s made me more determined to fight for others who’ve felt overlooked or powerless. I want to help others find their strength, too.”

A Tragic Life Turn

Hawatmeh was 16 years old when a mentally ill neighbor changed her life forever. Her family was in the process of moving from Utah to Las Vegas to join their extended family and was temporarily renting an apartment. 

On Nov. 3, 2020, the attacker broke into their Henderson apartment and shot Hawatmeh, her mother Dianne, and their housekeeper, Veronica Muniz. Her mother and Muniz were killed in the attack, and the shooter took her younger brother, Joseph, hostage. Police shot both the attacker and her brother during the standoff that followed. The Hawatmeh family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the police.

Hawatmeh was left paralyzed from the waist down and taken to the renowned Craig Hospital in Denver for rehabilitation. It was during COVID, so only her father, Iehab, could accompany her; her aunt also received special permission to help.

“My dad was sitting with me, and I remember crying, and I remember him just saying ‘This is not the end of your story,’” she said. “All you can really do is turn this pain that you're going through into something better.”

“You know the pain, it's not just the physical pain of being injured, but it's also the emotional pain … of your life flipping, like making a 180. And being in a wheelchair, and especially being a victim of a violent crime. That's where I decided to go to law school.”

A Remarkable Recovery

The next months were filled with intense therapy. Hawatmeh had to learn to “transfer,” using her upper body to move between chairs, bed, and her wheelchair. It was a lot of hard physical and emotional work. 

It was hard to get used to seeing herself in a wheelchair, she said, noting that social media messages about how teens should look were intense to process.

“At first, I couldn't even really look at myself in the mirror. Just because I didn't recognize the person that I saw.”

Therapy and her family helped her through, she said. “My family really made it so that I didn't feel different.”

Craig Hospital also helped with physical and occupational therapy for wheelchair use, showering, and self-catheterizing, among other life skills. One therapist let her paint his nails after she made 10 good transfers, she remembered, laughing. “He made it fun.”

She finished high school remotely, even graduating a year early, to “make my mom proud,” she said.

That spring, she got a call from Bryan Hilbert, director of UNLV’s Disability Resource Center. Hilbert recruits for the Neilsen Scholarship Program, created by the Neilsen Foundation to support students with spinal cord injury. UNLV has participated in the program since 2018, helping dozens of students fund their educations, personal care, and medical expenses.  

“Yasmeen’s story is unique,” Hilbert said. “We had heard about her, and we saw she was relocating to Las Vegas.”

He reached out to Hawatmeh while she was still in the hospital. “I remember the first phone call,” he said. “Even though she had gone through something so life-changing, she still had a passion and goals ...Yasmeen was able to transition strong from rehab to the university.”

Hawatmeh remembers the call, too. “I actually got the call at therapy. When I heard I received a scholarship, I got so excited.”

She enrolled at UNLV in fall 2021, with her family at her side in Las Vegas. The Neilsen Scholarship helped with her tuition and expenses, and some of her medical and technological needs, including helping outfit her car with hand controls so she could drive again.

“Driving was something that I really missed,” she said. She had just earned her driver’s license when she was shot and never really got the chance to enjoy it. 

She had to go through driver’s education again but found driving with her hands pretty easy. And therapeutic. “It was huge, for my independence,” she said. The hardest part was learning how to put her wheelchair in the car and transfer herself into the driver’s seat.

“It's really difficult because the wheelchair is a lot heavier than you think, and it's a lot of core balance and lower back strength, which is something that I lack because of my injuries. And you have no idea how heavy legs really are! It was a lot of trial and error.”

Full Speed into the Future

As Hawatmeh rehabilitated her body and regained her independence, she also helped others. She has become an advocate for friends at her physical therapy center, providing advice and resources on how to get help with equipment, such as wheelchairs and braces.

“I've met a lot of really cool people with different stories, and a lot of them had no idea about resources,” she said.

She also excelled in her academics. She proudly made the dean’s list for multiple semesters and graduated with her marketing degree this spring. 

Her family couldn’t be more proud. “She is our entire world, and we revolve around her,” said her aunt, Reem Sayegh. “Her smile gives us strength. She’s always been goal-oriented, and she continues to grow and persevere. She’s my role model.”

Now with her bachelor's degree in marketing from UNLV, Hawatmeh’s journey will continue as she begins online law classes this fall at Southwestern Law School in California. Ultimately, she wants to advocate for victims of violent, traumatic crime and help shape policies that protect survivors and make justice more accessible.

“I want to use my voice, my experience, and my education to fight for justice and help people who often feel powerless in the legal system,” she said. “This next chapter is about turning my pain into purpose and making sure no one feels alone in their fight.”