Through Their Eyes: AUAF Students in the US

A young AUAF undergraduate student, Nasria Pashtun, recently returned from Washington, D.C., where she took part in networking and awareness events designed to educate Americans on the unique issues facing Afghanistan and garner support for need and merit-based scholarships at AUAF.

Nasria, 21, is in her fifth semester of undergraduate study at AUAF. A member of the first class to enroll in AUAF, Nasria is able to chronicle the extraordinary growth of AUAF over the past two years. She had never been to the United States.

“This trip was my first to the US; the whole trip was sponsored by USAID, the Embassy of the United States to Afghanistan, and AUAF. It offered an opportunity to see new places and meet very important people who are big supporters of AUAF. It was one of the best experiences of my life. The people I met there were truly unique and amazing.

“When we got there, we met members of the AUAF Board of Trustees for the first time. They made us so comfortable that we felt at home immediately and didn’t have the feeling that we were among strangers. It was my first trip so I was a little nervous before going to U.S. Everyone was polite and so friendly. Leslie Schweitzer, Rebeka, and Chris gave us such a warm welcome that we felt we were with our family.

“The primary purpose of the trip was to attend a networking and awareness event in Washington, D.C. The whole event, which took place at the Embassy of Afghanistan to the U.S. and the National Gallery of Art, was big and awesome. I thought that being amongst a group of distinguished American citizens for the first time would be intimidating, but they made us so comfortable and confident that we were able to speak from our hearts.

“Bilquees, the other AUAF student there, and I had the honor to give the introductory speech. We told the attendees who we are, about our majors in AUAF, where we born, where we did our schooling, which year we joined AUAF, and what changes we saw there over the past two years. I believe our speech was much appreciated, and that everyone attending admired us for our self-confidence.

“In addition to the event, we attended dinners at the residences of Board of Trustees members, were given a tour of White House and a meeting with Mrs. Laura Bush’s Director of Policy and Projects, Ms. Sonya Medina.

“At the Motion Picture Association of America we were invited to a roundtable discussion with interns and students from organizations in Washington D.C. The participants asked us questions related to different sectors in Afghanistan, such as security issues, Afghan culture and society, health services, education, and women’s role in the emerging Afghanistan, and in particular the development and improvements of the educational activities of AUAF. They asked us, for example, what our parents and relatives thought when we enrolled at AUAF and whether it would affect our culture and religious beliefs. Most of their questions were interesting, and demonstrated a keen interest in Afghanistan.

“Most importantly, we met Joanne Herring, who was recently played by actor Julia Roberts in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War. She has a truly impressive personality. She has been a great supporter of Afghanistan since the invasion of the Soviet Union and she played an important role in supporting the mujaheedin in their struggle against the Soviets. Even after supporting and helping Afghanistan for so long, the level of enthusiasm she showed in her support of AUAF was remarkable.

“The whole trip was excellent and I was really amazed and happy to see how many people are willing to help and support the Afghan people through AUAF.

“Before the event, the president of the University, Dr. Thomas Stauffer, told us about the scholarship funds raised so far and the support shown to our university. It was an amazing report for us. After, when I went to the event and met these people directly, and I came to know about their enthusiasm, their willingness and their kind support for our university, only then did I fully realize the depths of compassion and selflessness of these people.

"I would like to thank AUAF, the Embassy of the United States in Kabul and each and every individual I met in Washington, D.C., for providing this important opportunity for me and my friend Bilquees, so that I was able to have one of the most important and unforgettable experiences of my life, and for providing me the honor of being part of the efforts to support AUAF."