Marwa Rahim, 22 years old
I was born in war, grew up in war and went to school in war.
I used to watch a television series called “Heart Surgeon” and I dreamed that one day I would become a doctor and help as many people as possible, especially women.
I worked hard in high school and read a lot in my spare time. During the summers I took the optional English and Mathematics courses. I got good grades despite the poor facilities and resources for learning in the Afghan education system.
There was no medical school in the province where I was born, so I traveled to another province, five hours away, to study medicine. That province was dangerous, with attacks and bomb threats all around us as the war dragged on. I lived in a dorm, in a small room with 10 other girls. The talking and noise made studying difficult; there was no library and often no electricity. During the day I had to study in the hallway. There were very few resources such as books, laboratory equipment and computers.
Later, due to the pandemic, all universities closed and our classes and even our labs went online. We didn’t have any lab equipment at home, so a teacher suggested using a magnifying glass instead of a microscope. When we were assigned to study malaria for a lab, the teacher suggested we take the blood of an insect and examine it.
Now that I’m in Houston, I want to resume my studies, even if I have to start over, to become a great doctor, help people in Afghanistan and go to other countries where there are war victims. I intend to encourage and inspire women with my success, to never give up. I want my family and friends to be proud of me and become a useful person to this country that is now home to all of us.