My name is Rukhshona, I have recently turned 18 and currently I am a rising junior international student at Maryville College in Tennessee. How I am a college student already? Maybe due to challenges I have encountered as a young woman and my ability to speak up which made me the person I am today. I come from a small village in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. My life journey has started from facing societal challenges against women from young age when it was mainly women's responsibility to handle household and family... Growing up in an intense patriarchal society, I could not tolerate women in my neighborhood being controlled by mother-in-laws and husbands strictly, harassed in the streets, working day-night at home and farm tirelessly, not being allowed to go out, express themselves, looking after children and having the obligation to stand up and work despite their sickness. I was moved by their patience and angel-like soul which carried a lot of feelings they could not let out, including my mom. When I tried to protect them by offering to do the chores so they could take some rest, my offer was immediately dismissed by my grandma. Little after COVID, I was highly willing to learn English and take classes. My family did not approve of my decision, concerning that I would bring COVID to home whereas my brother was already going to school. I could not see any reasoning behind this, but gender inequality and uneven distribution of human rights which seemed unfair. I had to convince my father for a long time to get permission, but I also had to attend my classes quietly as my neighbors could brainwash my parents if they knew I was focusing on my studies. They believed nobody would benefit from women's education! I decided to prove them wrong. I started actively participating in English competitions where sometimes I was the only girl. I started to honor women and celebrate women-based events at school like International Women's Day. Women empowerment projects broke out all around and there was a slight shift and space for women to be independent. After these achievements, I formed trust in my parents' heart at least a bit that I can make change and eventually came to the US in hopes of learning how I can make impact in the lives of women. Following my summer break, last summer I returned to Uzbekistan and gave speeches to schools to encourage these young women to never stop hoping and dreaming, always going forward and making their dreams happen no matter what obstacles come in the way. I shared my story with families, told them women are not weak, do not deserve to be victims of arranged marriages and can actually be great inspiring leaders. I am currently doing UN Summer Study Program and learning in-depth about SDGs, including gender equality. In near future, throughout my IR career, I am planning to create a platform in collaboration with UN Women where I can explain societies about women's role who are reluctant to give them chance, support women to advocate for themselves, to overcome inequality, study abroad and create opportunities for them. I have organized several sessions, celebrations of women's leadership and contributions, and planning to arrange this in international level by visiting traditional societies in-person. Women do not want to be honored on stage just because they are women, they just want to be treated equally. I will take actions to back up women in any way so they are heard, given the same opportunities and treated equally!

I am Rukhshona Isomova, an international student from Uzbekistan who came to study her Bachelor's with a full scholarship at Maryville College, Tennessee at the age of 16. From day one at college, despite the difficulties faced, I did my best to overcome them; in reality, those challenges shaped me into who I am today. Throughout school years, I have realized my aptitude for being a true leader and organizing things efficiently by attending and helping with the execution of different events at school. Being a leader taught me to compete and my competitiveness was deeply shaped and developed when I regularly partook and won in contests, olympiads and projects. The important lesson I learned through experience is that leadership is not all about competition, but also about helping and guiding people toward achieving their goals, supporting, motivating the communities around me and making impactful changes in the lives of people. These are the main reasons why I highly respect leadership and because leadership aligns with my goal to make a positive influence locally and globally, I declared my major as Business and later as International Relations. My leadership and organizational skills came in handy once I started my freshman year in 2022. As a Diversity Scholar, I had the privilege of representing my culture, encouraging others to do one, organizing cultural/culinary shows, becoming a team lead in GCO, winning the annual Talent Show, getting awards for my work and being recognized as Student Leader of the Year. This fall, as a humble future diplomat, I cannot wait to continue my role as iMentor to an international student, and MC Ambassador, plan to dedicate my time to community service, give speeches about my study abroad experience to youth, especially females in society, motivate them and strengthen the bonds between nations.

It has always been a blessing to grow up as a Muslim in the Muslim community and country. Since my childhood, I have been fascinated by the holy book of "Koran" when my mom was reading it aloud that was a break for me from the worries of life. Being raised in a Muslim household taught me a lot of things like honesty, being kind, caring and friendly to everyone, and helping and supporting each other. My influencer was mainly my mom who would say: Always remember God in your thoughts, ask, thank him/her for giving you what you have right now, s/he is generous and blesses you even with more but remember to be grateful in any case and keep yourself close to him/her! Note, if God does not give what you asked, then, s/he says: you deserve more or I will give you better than this." I never regret listening to my mom, because I have been gifted with even more than what I have asked from God. It was my dream to study abroad as an international Muslim student from Uzbekistan and although I was not successful to win the one-year program I applied to, with my Muslim identity I was very honored to be awarded a full scholarship later to study for my Bachelor's Degree at Maryville College in Tennessee and be recognized as Diversity Scholar. Everything happens for a reason... After I reached college after graduating and leaving my home country, like other international students, I had some challenges and difficulties at first as a young, 16-year-old student on my own, but despite that, I overcame them gradually. Meeting people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions was a whole new and rewarding experience that increased my respect for others. My Muslim identity at college has led me to actively engage with Muslim Community, and organize and celebrate cultural events like Ramadan and Eid in collaboration with Muslim Community. These experiences have provided me with cultural connections and created global relationships which deeply influenced my International Relations career. By inviting students from various religions, we created a global atmosphere where we exchanged our ideas about faiths and beliefs, and promoted mutual respect and appreciation for other people. My identity as Muslim has also impacted my approach to my major - International Relations. It aligns with my desire to make a strong positive influence in my society and on a global scale, help marginalized communities and bring solutions to global problems, which are inspired by the teachings of my faith. Receiving this scholarship will provide me with financial support and enable me to pursue my International Relations career, allowing me to dedicate my time to studies, community service, make a positive change, give back to my community, share my experience with youth and improve the lives of others. I feel a deep responsibility to fulfill these both as a Muslim and diplomat.

Brought up in 3,000 years old ancient country of Uzbekistan, I was motivated to study hard, gain success and determined to reach my goals which most people in my society would consider impossible or not appropriate for girls. I believed that regardless of where the person comes from or which ethnicity or race s/he is from, one should be the person who can make it all reality and even impossible possible. To those who thought girls were not able to put ahead big goals or study abroad, I promised myself to prove it to youth in the future. As a child, I was passionate about meeting with tourists which is why I would come all the way from a small area to the heart of the city often just to strike up conversations and improve my English with natives of the US. COVID hit the population here badly just like it impacted other places, however, who thought it would make me grow better and study more seriously than ever before? The pandemic shaped me who I am today and brought me success. There were online classes on TV that we were supposed to watch from which I could not learn much. It eventually led me to work on myself independently, take extra classes, and practice new skills. Attending contests, English competitions and olympiads helped me to gain lots of experience; once there was a contest in which we had to talk about our experience during COVID and how it impacted us. My motivational speech was given the first honorable place and I was so honored to be recognized as the winner of "The Best Video Clip Award" at the state level. My other dream was to study at a US university and by working hard, I got a full scholarship to study at Maryville College in Tennessee as an international student. By organizing cultural presentations, getting awards and being Student Leader of the Year, I proved my society wrong who thought girls were meant to stay at home. Most people usually do not allow their daughters to study overseas as they concern about their safety, or privacy or just because they are single children. I always thank God for giving me supportive parents who did not show any objection to me going to study abroad by myself in the US when I was sixteen. Even though I had some challenges at this young age on my own in a completely different country, I managed to adjust to different culture and get over the obstacles. Those challenges taught me lessons, about how to be independent, strong and patient! God has created every human being equally, and women can also be leaders! Now, after coming back to my homeland, I have been giving speeches at schools, motivating the younger generation. Look how far the society's few words and impact took me. We can make it happen if we have the willingness to do it!

Brought up in 3,000 years old ancient city of Uzbekistan, I was motivated to study hard, gain success and determined to reach my goals which most people in my society would consider impossible or not appropriate for girls. I believed that regardless of where the person comes from or which ethnicity or race s/he is from, one should be the person who can make it all reality and even impossible possible. To those who thought girls were not able to put ahead big goals or study abroad, I promised myself to prove it to youth in the future. As a child, I was passionate about meeting with tourists which is why I would come all the way from a small area to the heart of the city often just to strike up conversations and improve my English with natives of the US. COVID hit the population here badly just like it impacted other places, however, who thought it would make me grow better and study more seriously than ever before? The pandemic shaped me who I am today and brought me success. There were online classes on TV that we were supposed to watch from which I could not learn much. It eventually led me to work on myself independently, take extra classes, and practice new skills. Attending contests, English competitions and olympiads helped me to gain lots of experience; once there was a contest in which we had to talk about our experience during COVID and how it impacted us. My motivational speech was given the first honorable place and I was so honored to be recognized as the winner of "The Best Video Clip Award" at the state level. My other dream was to study at a US university and by working hard, I got a full scholarship to study at Maryville College in Tennessee as an international student. By organizing cultural presentations, getting awards and being Student Leader of the Year, I proved my society wrong who thought girls were meant to stay at home. Most people usually do not allow their daughters to study overseas as they concern about their safety, or privacy or just because they are single child. I always thank God for giving me supportive parents who did not show any objection to me going to study abroad by myself in the US when I was sixteen. God has created every human being equally, and women can also be leaders! Now, after coming back to my homeland, I have been giving speeches at schools, motivating the younger generation. Look how far the society's few words and impact took me. We can make it happen if we have the willingness to do it!