As a girl growing up in Afghanistan, where much of the educational infrastructure has been destroyed and women have had limited access to education, I have sustained many hardships to continue my education. Despite the many hardships, my mother’s efforts in providing scholarships for Afghan women to pursue their higher education and my father’s vast experience in teaching English as a university professor have contributed greatly to my love for education. My mother left her profession in pharmacy to join the administrative staff of The International School of Kabul, so I could get a scholarship there. Those were my golden years. By third grade the school was closed due to threats by terrorist groups. The transition from an international school, which was like an American school, to an Afghani public school was life changing for me. The school environment, teachers, educational facilities, curriculum, and the overall quality of education were vastly substandard. Over the next five years, I still continued to read English books and study English as my third language, outside of school. I also joined a music academy, where I pursued my dream of learning how to play guitar. Because this is unconventional in Afghanistan, a reporter from Reuters interviewed me about my view about the many restrictions on women's rights and peace deals. Unfortunately, shortly after my interview, the music academy was closed probably due to security threats. I was deeply heartbroken, but I did not give up. When 2021 began, we looked forward to new beginnings only to be surprised by the increasing terrorist attacks. Because all educational institutions were being threatened and the Taliban were advancing towards Kabul, I wasn’t sure whether I would return from school alive or not. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took over Kabul, and that was my last day in school. Over the next two weeks, we desperately hid in our home while the evacuation efforts from Kabul Airport ended. Finally, on the night of September 10, 2021, we were notified that several evacuation flights were leaving soon from another province. We packed up our lives in one backpack each, left home after 10 minutes, and drove for 12 hours. When we arrived in Mazar, we discovered our flight had been canceled. Hoping to leave the country alive, we lived in different places with very limited facilities because the Taliban were arresting the people who planned to leave the country. Though extremely frightened and shocked by the drastic changes in our lives, hope kept us alive during these dreadful times. We were able to leave on October 8, 2021, and arrived in Emirates Humanitarian City. Each family was given a room in a residential building. Because we had a valid case for immigrating to the US, we had to wait in the refugee camp until our cases got processed. In the meantime, the conditions in the refugee camp deteriorated. After several months, a friend in the US, known through my mother’s work with international organizations, sent me a computer and enrolled me at an online school, NorthStar Academy. Sharing the poor internet connection with 17000 people over the course of the year made me cry when I couldn’t submit my assignments. At last, we arrived in the US to new challenges. I am glad that we survived and are living in a peaceful environment. I have continued my education under the most difficult conditions, because I have always been interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. My mother was a pharmacist in Afghanistan. She endured many hardships to obtain her degree. Still, she inspired me by telling me stories of working in a hospital and how doctors saved lives. To a younger me, wearing a white coat and being called a doctor was the dream. Later, my mother developed rheumatic heart disease, a genetic disease caused by strep throat. She went through many procedures in 2024. My father also suffers from hypertension and glaucoma. In addition to that, I went through health issues. Through all these experiences, I learned that being a doctor is much more than just wearing a white coat and being respected by others. Just like the doctors who were incredibly empathetic during my surgery, doctors must also be able to dedicate their lives to treating patients with compassion and responsibility. I went through two surgeries in 2024, one for a benign abdominal tumor and another for appendicitis. Although experiencing health issues has affected me mentally and emotionally, I would love to get involved in the medical field and learn about the root cause of diseases and how to treat people. In addition, I am grateful that I had access to quality medical facilities and my illness was treated. If I had still been in Afghanistan, I would not have had access to a standard hospital. I believe every human being should have access to medical facilities. Therefore, not only do I want to be involved in the medical field, but I would also hope to use my education to establish free hospitals around the world to help save people’s lives.

As a girl growing up in Afghanistan, where much of the educational infrastructure has been destroyed and women have had limited access to education, I have sustained many hardships to continue my education. Despite the many hardships, my mother’s efforts in providing scholarships for Afghan women to pursue their higher education and my father’s vast experience in teaching English as a university professor have contributed greatly to my love for education. My mother left her profession in pharmacy to join the administrative staff of The International School of Kabul, so I could get a scholarship there. Those were my golden years. By third grade the school was closed due to threats by terrorist groups. The transition from an international school, which was like an American school, to an Afghani public school was life changing for me. The school environment, teachers, educational facilities, curriculum, and the overall quality of education were vastly substandard. Over the next five years, I still continued to read English books and study English as my third language, outside of school. I also joined a music academy, where I pursued my dream of learning how to play guitar. Because this is unconventional in Afghanistan, a reporter from Reuters interviewed me about my view about the many restrictions on women's rights and peace deals. Unfortunately, shortly after my interview, the music academy was closed probably due to security threats. I was deeply heartbroken, but I did not give up. When 2021 began, we looked forward to new beginnings only to be surprised by the increasing terrorist attacks. Because all educational institutions were being threatened and the Taliban were advancing towards Kabul, I wasn’t sure whether I would return from school alive or not. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took over Kabul, and that was my last day in school. Over the next two weeks, we desperately hid in our home while the evacuation efforts from Kabul Airport ended. Finally, on the night of September 10, 2021, we were notified that several evacuation flights were leaving soon from another province. We packed up our lives in one backpack each, left home after 10 minutes, and drove for 12 hours. When we arrived in Mazar, we discovered our flight had been canceled. Hoping to leave the country alive, we lived in different places with very limited facilities because the Taliban were arresting the people who planned to leave the country. Though extremely frightened and shocked by the drastic changes in our lives, hope kept us alive during these dreadful times. We were able to leave on October 8, 2021, and arrived in Emirates Humanitarian City. Each family was given a room in a residential building. Because we had a valid case for immigrating to the US, we had to wait in the refugee camp until our cases got processed. In the meantime, the conditions in the refugee camp deteriorated. After several months, a friend in the US, known through my mother’s work with international organizations, sent me a computer and enrolled me at an online school, NorthStar Academy. Sharing the poor internet connection with 17000 people over the course of the year made me cry when I couldn’t submit my assignments. At last, we arrived in the US to new challenges. I am glad that we survived and are living in a peaceful environment. Right now, I am a senior at Rocky Mount Academy and I am very grateful for the quality of education and facilities. These difficult experiences have strengthened my resolve to fulfill my dream to continue my education and work as an international virtual tutor.

As a girl growing up in Afghanistan, where much of the educational infrastructure has been destroyed and women have had limited access to education, I have sustained many hardships to continue my education. Despite the many hardships, my mother’s efforts in providing scholarships for Afghan women to pursue their higher education and my father’s vast experience in teaching English as a university professor have contributed greatly to my love for education. My mother left her profession in pharmacy to join the administrative staff of The International School of Kabul, so I could get a scholarship there. Those were my golden years. By third grade the school was closed due to threats by terrorist groups. The transition from an international school, which was like an American school, to an Afghani public school was life changing for me. The school environment, teachers, educational facilities, curriculum, and the overall quality of education were vastly substandard. Over the next five years, I still continued to read English books and study English as my third language, outside of school. I also joined a music academy, where I pursued my dream of learning how to play guitar. Because this is unconventional in Afghanistan, a reporter from Reuters interviewed me about my view about the many restrictions on women's rights and peace deals. Unfortunately, shortly after my interview, the music academy was closed probably due to security threats. I was deeply heartbroken, but I did not give up. When 2021 began, we looked forward to new beginnings only to be surprised by the increasing terrorist attacks. Because all educational institutions were being threatened and the Taliban were advancing towards Kabul, I wasn’t sure whether I would return from school alive or not. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban took over Kabul, and that was my last day in school. Over the next two weeks, we desperately hid in our home while the evacuation efforts from Kabul Airport ended. Finally, on the night of September 10, 2021, we were notified that several evacuation flights were leaving soon from another province. We packed up our lives in one backpack each, left home after 10 minutes, and drove for 12 hours. When we arrived in Mazar, we discovered our flight had been canceled. Hoping to leave the country alive, we lived in different places with very limited facilities because the Taliban were arresting the people who planned to leave the country. Though extremely frightened and shocked by the drastic changes in our lives, hope kept us alive during these dreadful times. We were able to leave on October 8, 2021, and arrived in Emirates Humanitarian City. Each family was given a room in a residential building. Because we had a valid case for immigrating to the US, we had to wait in the refugee camp until our cases got processed. In the meantime, the conditions in the refugee camp deteriorated. After several months, a friend in the US, known through my mother’s work with international organizations, sent me a computer and enrolled me at an online school, NorthStar Academy. Sharing the poor internet connection with 17000 people over the course of the year made me cry when I couldn’t submit my assignments. At last, we arrived in the US to new challenges. I am glad that we survived and are living in a peaceful environment. Right now, I am a senior at Rocky Mount Academy and I am very grateful for the quality of education and facilities. These difficult experiences have strengthened my resolve to fulfill my dream to continue my education and work as an international virtual tutor.

Being a female in Afghanistan is not easy. I was forced to grow up in an environment that does everything it can to prohibit women's rights to equality and an education. However, these restrictions have motivated me to continue my education with limited resources and help spread knowledge. In addition to my schoolwork, I read English books and studied English as my third language. Since I had knowledge of the English language, I worked with The Asia Foundation as a volunteer to create an online platform and translate children’s books during the Covid-19 pandemic. I translated more than 20 books from English to my native languages, Farsi and Pashto. I have continued my education under the most difficult conditions, because I have always been interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. My mother was a pharmacist in Afghanistan. She endured many hardships to obtain her degree. Still, she inspired me by telling me stories of working in a hospital and how doctors saved lives. To a younger me, wearing a white coat and being called a doctor was the dream. Later, my mother developed rheumatic heart disease, a genetic disease caused by strep throat. She went through many procedures in 2024. My father also suffers from hypertension and glaucoma. In addition to that, I went through health issues. Through all these experiences, I learned that being a doctor is much more than just wearing a white coat and being respected by others. Just like the doctors who were incredibly empathetic during my surgery, doctors must also be able to dedicate their lives to treating patients with compassion and responsibility. I went through two surgeries in 2024, one for a benign abdominal tumor and another for appendicitis. Although experiencing health issues has affected me mentally and emotionally, I would love to get involved in the medical field and learn about the root cause of diseases and how to treat people. In addition, I am grateful that I had access to quality medical facilities and my illness was treated. If I had still been in Afghanistan, I would not have had access to a standard hospital. I believe every human being should have access to medical facilities. Therefore, not only do I want to be involved in the medical field, but I would also hope to use my education to establish free hospitals around the world to help save people’s lives.

Being a female in Afghanistan is not easy. I was forced to grow up in an environment that does everything it can to prohibit women's rights to equality and an education. However, these restrictions have motivated me to continue my education with limited resources and help spread knowledge. In addition to my schoolwork, I read English books and studied English as my third language. My life journey changed when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Since our lives were in danger, we packed up our lives in one backpack each and were evacuated to a refugee camp in the UAE. Although having access to limited facilities, I studied at an online school. After spending one year in the refugee camp, we finally arrived in the US to new challenges. It has been two years since we have arrived in the US, and I am studying at Rocky Mount Academy. Attending Rocky Mount Academy, I realized during my junior year how fortunate I am to finally gain access to quality education while girls are not allowed to attend school above 6th grade in my home country. Recognizing the need for all human beings to have equal rights and equal access to education, I decided to help promote education in order to make a positive impact in the lives of those girls. Starting with my cousin, I contacted other teenage girls that I knew. My thirst for acquiring knowledge and dedication to spreading it to others led me to start a weekly tutoring group. I started my sessions with three girls, including my cousin. I used FaceTime to connect with them, and we all talked about conversational topics. Understanding the importance of connecting with my students, I spent the first few sessions talking to them and listening to their stories. I later questioned what subjects they needed help with the most. They had struggled with English and math at school. Gradually, I started to shift my sessions from merely conversing to testing their knowledge of the English language through oral quizzes. That is how the tutoring started to form. While carrying out tutoring sessions seemed simple at the beginning, we soon faced obstacles. Firstly, the internet connection was very weak in Afghanistan. FaceTime being our only means of communication, we faced interruptions. In addition, the girls had been out of school for a long time; therefore, warming them up and keeping them constantly engaged and motivated were also challenging. Time management was also another issue for me. Balancing my own schoolwork while conducting tutoring sessions was another defining challenge. Acknowledging these challenges, I searched for solutions. Starting with conducting the sessions at a time where the rush on the internet is low, I decided to change the tutoring group meeting to evenings which is early morning in Afghanistan. Regarding my students’ improvement in the subjects, I planned to take it slow. I started with the very basics. In addition to tutoring, I also provided them with mental support. Living under the Taliban’s regime had lowered their spirits. I tried to cheer them up through telling jokes in the middle of a topic and listening to them. I also balanced my responsibilities by changing the sessions to weekends. Through this service-oriented role, I was able not only to tutor girls but also to motivate them. Going to school in Afghanistan was a challenge. Learning a foreign language was a challenge. Living in a refugee camp was a challenge. These challenges and my thirst for knowledge have motivated me to acquire knowledge and help spread it even under the most difficult situations of my life.