{"id":15281,"date":"2014-04-07T09:41:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-07T13:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=15281"},"modified":"2014-04-07T09:41:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T13:41:00","slug":"voices-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2014\/04\/07\/voices-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Voices of Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in Afghanistan, Fatemeh Ahmadi moved every couple years, her family bouncing from one house to another. The University of Mary Washington junior, who never imagined she\u2019d attend a university in the U.S., spent last spring break giving another family a place to call home as part of a Habitat for Humanity trip.<\/p>\n

\"Fatemeh<\/a>
Fatemeh Ahmadi joined an Alternative Spring Break trip last year to benefit Habitat for Humanity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI come from a third world country where we\u2019ve lived in rental houses,\u201d Ahmadi said. \u201cI understand how hard it is not to have a roof of your own on top of your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, she is the first person in her family to attend college. \u00a0Ahmadi and Afghan native Maryam Yousufzai, also a junior, are receiving full scholarships through UMW as part of the\u00a0Initiative to Educate Afghan Women<\/a>, known as IEAW.<\/p>\n

The largest program of its kind, the IEAW has a mission to \u201ccreate Afghanistan\u2019s future women leaders through education and career guidance.\u201d Since the launch of the program more than a decade ago, the initiative has given an education and a voice to more than 85 Afghan women through education at American universities, leadership training and career guidance.<\/p>\n

Ahmadi and Yousufzai will ultimately become the fourth and fifth women from Afghanistan to graduate from UMW through the program. After graduation, the two women will return to Afghanistan to with goals to create change and a better world in their home country. Both want to help women in their home country live better, more independent lives.<\/p>\n

Education has always played a strong role in Ahmadi\u2019s life. Living in Herat during the Taliban regime, Ahmadi had to be homeschooled in order to keep up her studies, and was thrilled when she got to go back to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very excited to go to real school after the collapse,\u201d said Ahmadi. \u201cI was eager to learn more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ahmadi<\/a>
Ahmadi (center) throws packets of color as part of UMW’s Holi celebration. Photo by Julia Davis ’15.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since that return to school, Ahmadi has sought to do everything she can to further her education and create a better life for herself. When the opportunity to study in the U.S. first came up in high school, Ahmadi didn\u2019t hesitate and took the first English entry exam into the program without telling her parents.<\/p>\n

She had family members who were against her leaving Afghanistan, but her mother, who didn\u2019t have the opportunity to go to college, encouraged her to open the doors for her future.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom pushes her children to do well,\u201d said Ahmadi, who credits her mother with her success, \u201cShe wants her children to appreciate their education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trying to experience every aspect of college for her mother and younger siblings back in Afghanistan, Ahmadi has joined over half a dozen of UMW\u2019s clubs and organizations<\/a>, including Unicef, the Outdoors Club and the Islamic Student Association.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, everything was new to me, so I tried to go to everything,\u201d said Ahmadi. She also has participated in many of UMW\u2019s iconic multicultural events<\/a>, including the Fast-a-Thon, Multicultural Fair<\/a> and Arab Culture Night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Maryam Yousufzai, studying at UMW as a member of IEAW has given her the opportunity to take her education farther than she could have in her home city of Kabul, Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do something big and I wanted to do something different,\u201d said Yousufzai.<\/p>\n

When Yousufzai received her acceptance email from the initiative, she was so shocked she didn\u2019t think it was real.<\/p>\n

\"Ahmadi<\/a>
Ahmadi (fourth from left) joins members of the crowd in a line dance before the UMW Dabke team performed at the 4th annual.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it at the beginning,\u201d said Yousufzai, who dreamed of being accepted by IEAW for years. \u201cI kept re-reading the email back again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since her arrival at UMW, Yousufzai, a business and economics double major, has striven to make the most of her educational opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first noticed how peaceful and beautiful this school was,\u201d said Yousufzai, who feels that UMW\u2019s small classes<\/a> and tranquil campus setting have helped her succeed. In her three years at UMW, she has been named to the Dean\u2019s List, President\u2019s List and is a member of several honor societies.<\/p>\n

\u201dI was blessed to be able to come to the United States and study, because not everyone has the opportunity in Afghanistan,\u201d said Yousufzai.<\/p>\n

In addition to her school work, Yousufzai works in the Accounts Payable office at UMW, which she feels is giving her experience to help her with her future goal of helping Afghan women become more financially stable.<\/p>\n

Cheryl Mason, assistant director of international students and scholars at the Center for International Education<\/a>, has seen firsthand the efforts of the students and has high hopes for their return to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201dIt\u2019s even more important now for well-educated women to be ready to take a leadership role,\u201d said Mason, who has worked with the students since their arrival at UMW three years ago. \u201cAfghanistan needs women like Fatemeh and Maryam.\u201d<\/p>\n

With strong ambitions, both students have already set out to work towards their ultimate dreams for a better life for women in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\"Ahmadi<\/a>
Ahmadi is active in student organizations, including the UMW Dabke team.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWomen aren\u2019t aware of everything that they can do,\u201d said Ahmadi.<\/p>\n

She hopes to make a career of helping Afghanistan\u2019s women and children. During her summer breaks in Afghanistan, she volunteers her time giving English lessons to children in orphanages.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir education is the root for a better life,\u201d Ahmadi said. \u201cEnglish will open many doors for them, because it opened many doors for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

With graduation looming in less than a year, Ahmadi is excited for the future in Afghanistan she never imagined she would have.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel opportunities like this are going to have a big impact on Afghanistan’s future,\u201d said Ahmadi. \u00a0\u201cIEAW is one of the best things that have happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mason shares in their excitement and hopes to stay in touch with the students after they return to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of confidence in them and am excited to see what they will do, because nobody will stop these two,\u201d said Mason. \u201dThey were strong women when they arrived. Now they\u2019re invincible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students from Afghanistan share their culture – and plans for the future – with UMW.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":15431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[31],"class_list":{"0":"post-15281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"tag-honor","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVoices of Hope - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2014\/04\/07\/voices-of-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julia Davis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/04\\\/07\\\/voices-of-hope\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/04\\\/07\\\/voices-of-hope\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Julia Davis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/04cecd6ea8db838499f522a0b6b6ee8d\"},\"headline\":\"Voices of Hope\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-04-07T13:41:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/04\\\/07\\\/voices-of-hope\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1093,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/04\\\/07\\\/voices-of-hope\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2014\\\/04\\\/Arab-Night_GM.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Center for Honor, Leadership and Service\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/04\\\/07\\\/voices-of-hope\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/04\\\/07\\\/voices-of-hope\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/04\\\/07\\\/voices-of-hope\\\/\",\"name\":\"Voices of Hope - 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