Educating Asia's Women, One Scholarship At A Time

Mosa | Naogaon, Bangladesh | Class of 2021 | Environmental Studies

Mosa is always excited to try new things—the majority of her courses thus far have been focused on the humanities, but her favorite course this semester is her integrated science class. “I did not have much knowledge about science. Though it is very difficult for me, I worked hard to learn. I feel very happy now because I have learned numerous things about science,” she says. Mosa’s hard work in all of her academic courses has paid off, and she was selected to volunteer as a mentor for Pathways scholars. Mosa’s tasks included couching them in English speaking and pronunciation and helping them to expand their English vocabulary. Mosa also volunteers to help organize events, such as the Halloween cultural show. Outside of her academics and community service, Mosa loves to play soccer and badminton at the AUW campus site.

For Mosa, arriving at AUW was a life-changing experience. “After coming to AUW I have started to recognize myself for who I am. AUW helps me to learn about myself. Before there were a lot things I could not afford due to my family’s poverty—for instance, education. Now, AUW has given me the self-confidence to know that I can pursue my dreams,” she explains. One day, Mosa wants to use what she has learned to make the world a better place. While she is not quite sure what career she wants to pursue, she knows what issues she is passionate about, saying, “I want to work to improve human rights, especially for women, because in Bangladesh society is very male-dominated. Also, I want to work to address environmental pollution.”

Sonia | Bangladesh | Class of 2020 | Politics, Philosophy, and Economics

Sonia is enjoying her courses this semester, which include Political Philosophy and Intro to Economics. Economics is her favorite class because she finds the material to be applicable in her daily life. She thinks it is very important for everyone to have an understanding of basic economics. Outside of her coursework, Sonia is part of Campaign RED, an organization that brings AUW students to various schools in the region to teach the young students about menstrual health. “Our campaign is all about leadership. For me, I have to control the class alone and face different types of questions from the community and respond strongly,” Sonia shares. Sonia and others volunteering with Campaign RED have created a social media community and encourage students to use their Facebook platform to communicate with each other. She is passionate about her work with this campaign because she knows that improving awareness about menstrual health and removing stigma will help not only her community but her own life as well. “We should volunteer [with Campaign RED] not only to help others but also for our own benefit, because when people as a whole become aware of this issue, it becomes an easier environment for us all,” Sonia explains.

Nely| Chittagong, Bangladesh | Class of 2022 | Major: Undecided

Nely is a very active member of the AUW community and she is currently completing her second semester of the Access Academy. Her favorite classes at the moment are Pre-Calculus and English Language and Composition. Nely is active with a large number of student organizations, including the Women’s Entrepreneurship Club, Animal Welfare Club, Women Across Borders Club and Youth Voice. She volunteers with several of these organization, saying, “From my volunteering I have learned many things such group work activities, helping others in need, how to do hard work and talk with others for helping and others lots of things.”

Nely’s favorite memories from this year are AUW’s cultural events and the Welcome to My Country event. She is learning to play the guitar with the AUW Guitar Club and likes to practice filmmaking with the AUW Film Club. Nely is using her activities on campus to improve her public speaking and teaching skills. “My home country has many big problems that I want to work on, such as lack of education, child marriage, and sexual assault of women. I also want to work for the poor children and slum areas. After my graduation from AUW, I want to get involved with many organizations which are working for poor people.”

Lucky | Chandpur, Bangladesh | Class of 2021 | Major: Undecided

This year, Lucky was selected to travel to Hong Kong to speak at an Asian University for Women event. She was very proud to have earned this honor and feels she got a lot out of the experience. Lucky also is proud to have been offered a place at the Asia Pacific Youth Conference, although she wasn’t able to attend.

Lucky worked hard to achieve good scores in her academic courses this year. “Pre-calculus is my favorite subject because it is easy to do solve the problem. I like using numbers, fractions, decimals and so much more. Math is also used in the real world and even in a future career like engineering, architect, math teacher and a lot more. For these reasons math is my favorite subject,” Lucky says. She has learned a lot outside of just her academics, saying, “I have learned to how to improve my academic writing, such as avoiding casual language. I have also learned to respect all types of people. I learned so many positive things that I can’t explain it briefly—it would takes lots of time!”

Lucky is active in a variety of student organizations, including Women Across Borders Club, the AUW Film Club, the Animal Welfare Club, the Education Cells Teacher Training program, and Karate. These activities keep Lucky busy. She is also a mentor for new students and helps them adapt to life at AUW. “When I am a volunteer in the Women Across Borders Club, I have many responsibilities,” Lucky says. “Women Across Borders Club works in a local school—I go there sometimes and teach. I enjoy it because I like to work with people.”

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Juma | Intended Major: Politics, Philosophy, and Economics | Khangrachari, Bangladesh

Juma has been enjoying her time at AUW, especially learning English and mathematics. “I enjoyed my math class the most last year because our math teacher was very friendly and funny,” Juma shares. She is also proud of her improvements in speaking and reading English, saying “My biggest challenge was getting the highest mark on the [English writing] exam so I did lot of studying and I succeeded.” Since Juma’s mother is uneducated, Juma deeply appreciates the opportunities she has that her mother did not, and this has driven her to do the best she can in her schoolwork.

This year, Juma is excited to start in the Access Academy, and worked hard all summer to complete her pre-access courses. “Last year I improved my speaking and reading skills, and this year I hope to improve my writing skill,” she explains. Juma is also looking forward to doing volunteer community service work and attending cultural events on campus. “I participated cultural events at AUW last year. Some cultural highlights were Pohela Boishak [First Day of Spring celebrations] and the Lunar New Year Cultural Show.”

Juma has big dreams for her future. “After completing my studies at AUW, I want to complete my post graduate studies. Then, I want to come back my country and work to overcome economic crises in my motherland.”

Yesmin | Intended Major: Economics | Chittagong, Bangladesh

Yesmin is a hard worker. While many students opt to enjoy a relaxing summer after a demanding year of education, Yesmin was determined to get ahead. She studied hard in her summer courses and graduated from the Access Academy program. She is grateful for the workshops offered by the AUW Science and Math Center, which helped improve her math skills this summer. This fall, Yesmin is proud to be starting her first year of undergraduate studies at AUW. She is also taking full advantage of AUW’s liberal arts curriculum and will be courses in a variety of subjects. She is particularly looking forward to the courses Cultural Anthropology, Contemporary Issues: An Applied Perspective, and Calculus I.

Yesmin’s determination and focus helped her to be successful despite the challenges presented to her by her courses last year. “I enjoyed the Pre-calculus and World Civilization classes. The teachers were very funny and helpful,” she shares. “My writing skills are better than they were before and I hope my speaking will become better throughout this year.”

This year, Yesmin is looking forward to becoming a better researcher. She finds writing research papers to be challenging, and shares, “I have taken two courses that require research papers this fall. I think it will be a big challenge for me but it is a skill necessary for my intended major [Economics]. So, I will try my best to improve.” Yesmin is looking forward to the opportunity to work with younger students and to help her community, and plans to make time to do community service work. After completing her studies at AUW, Yesmin wants to pursue a graduate degree. “I would also like to contribute to my previous garment employer because they helped me to create a better future for myself,” she shares. “I want to give my best effort to do well and I will try heart and soul to succeed.”

Meherun | Intended Major: Public Health | Chittagong, Bangladesh

Meherun loves life at AUW—especially the opportunity to become friends with women from different countries and backgrounds. “Since AUW is an international university and there is so much diversity, we learn so many things from being here. Getting an AUW scholarship is my best accomplishment!” she enthuses. In addition to making friends with her international classmates, Meherun also enjoys going to AUW’s cultural events. She even participated in one event, where she recited a poem to a full audience. One of her favorite events last year was the International Mother Language Day event, which featured traditional dances and poetry performed by students of all different nationalities.

Another extracurricular that Meherun enjoyed was community service. “I joined the Education Club at AUW last year. I went with the club to a school to teach children. It was one of the best experiences of my life because it was the first time that I have taught someone. I had fun with the children and spent time with them. I won’t ever forget that day,” she shares. Meherun is excited to do more work with the club this year.

Meherun has enjoyed learning as well as teaching at AUW. “Last year my favorite courses were mathematics and academic writing practice because they helped me to think logically and critically, and helped make me creative and productive. I enjoyed them very much,” she explains. Meherun is working hard to improve her English skills as well, saying, “I have improved most in my speaking and reading skills last year. I hopefully want to improve my writing skills this year.” Meherun’s improvement in English speaking is a direct result of her commitment to doing her best in all of her classes. In addition to working hard in class, Meherun also made a point to go to events at AUW to practice, such as a workshop at the Writing Center and attending a Slam Poetry session held by the Speak Up Against Violence Against Women Club. Meherun has big dreams, and she is working hard to make them a reality. “After finishing my graduation from AUW I want to work for my previous employer in management and I want to get a graduate degree from any university in USA or London,” Meherun shares.

Roksana | Intended Major: Economics | Dhaka, Bangladesh

Roksana is very grateful to be a student at AUW. She shares, “I would like to say that I am genuinely happy that I have the opportunity to study at AUW. It helps me meet international friends and teachers, and it also will help me to make a good career after my studies. I really appreciate everyone who is helping me accomplish these goals.” She is eager to share what she has learned so far, saying, “I have particularly improved in English listening, reading, and speaking. This year I hope I will improve in English writing as well as in mathematics and computer skills.” 

Reflecting on the past year, Roksana explains that she found learning English to be stimulating and challenging. This challenge was one of Roksana’s favorite memories from her Pathways year, especially because learning English has been a long-held ambition of hers. Roksana also enjoyed participating in student life at AUW—in particular the Ted Talk discussions held on a regular basis in the AUW Library, which also serve as an opportunity for her to practice speaking and listening in English with her classmates. She also participated in cultural performances for several events on campus, including the Chinese New Year event. Roksana has enjoyed the opportunity to practice her English with women from different countries and learn about their backgrounds.

Roksana has already started thinking about her goals for her life after completing AUW, and shares that she wants to apply for graduate programs. She hopes to eventually work in the development sector to support development in Bangladesh and around the world.