Half a World Away

Half a World Away

My name is Nargess Hassani. I’m from Afghanistan, now studying at Menlo College.

The situation got really bad in Afghanistan. When I was 17 I was accepted to Herat University, and then the Taliban took over, preventing me from going to college. Opportunities for girls and women there are so limited, I knew I had to study elsewhere. But I needed help.

That help came from the Afghan Scout Relief Fund, a nonprofit associated with the Boy Scouts of America that helps support students who would benefit from the opportunity to make a better future for themselves. They reached out to me and gave me some names of colleges in the United States and other countries. I did an online search and found Menlo, where I saw I would find lots of support. The college gave me a scholarship, so all I had to do was acquire an F1 student visa.

That was the hardest part. It’s difficult for Afghan students to obtain an F1 because it is hard to prove an Afghan residence to which the student would return, and consular officers don’t really believe any Afghan would go back home to live under the Taliban. The student must overcome a legal presumption that they are actually intending to immigrate and not just come over for study. Given the difficult state of Afghanistan these days it makes that job much harder.

To complicate matters, Afghanistan has no US embassy, so I had to spend 6 months in Pakistan. I failed the visa process twice. It was already August and I was afraid I would miss my chance to start college. On my third try I was like, “Okay be calm, chill out. You can do it.” I got my visa and arrived at Menlo the night before the orientation. As the first success of the ASRF program, I’m over the moon. This opportunity really gave me those emotions and the power to believe in myself that I can make it. It was so exciting for me!

And scary. The culture shock was big, I was feeling alone, and I missed my family, especially my mom. But after a couple of days I found how nice people are here. I can walk around the campus and bump into a lot of different people from different cultures, countries, and mindsets. If you have any problem, you can ask for help and they will really help you.

That’s what I really like best about Menlo College, besides its beauty. The supportive and friendly community motivates you to try to do your best, especially the international students. You feel so comfortable when you’re talking to students, to instructors, to all the people here. Their aim is to help you to what you really deserve in the future. I really like how they are working hard to help the students to find their way.

Menlo offers me the opportunity to make my way to what I really want, and the tools to get there. I’d like to thank both Menlo College and the Afghan Scout Relief Fund for helping to make my dreams come true. I’m also really grateful that you’re reading my story and I want to say that it has just begun.

Interview by George Retelas and editing by Jeffrey Erickson.