My name is Simran Hussain, and I am currently a second-year student at Oxford College of Emory University majoring in business. My childhood was vibrant and exciting, but different from most. I grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh and attended an international school where I learned about cultures that were both different and similar to my own. During a school fieldtrip to a village in the third grade, I saw firsthand the extreme gendered disparity in the education system that existed due to the communal mindset that it was more valuable to send boys to school. This planted a seed in my mind, and I slowly became passionate about the inequalities women face in society. Just before sixth grade, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and yet I still wondered about the gender gap in the Bangladeshi education system.

After high school, I wanted to attend an institution that valued diversity and culture as much as I did, and I was delighted when I discovered Emory University. My sister attended Oxford College years before I did, and hearing about the tightknit community and incredible opportunities offered convinced me to call Emory my home. During an end-of-year ceremony, I heard about a student who received the Abinta Kabir Scholarship. Ms. Kabir’s name was very familiar to me due to the Hossain-Kabir Room on our campus dedicated to commemorating their loss. Once I learned about the purpose of the scholarship to help South Asian students, I reached out to Ruba Aunty to express my interest. This scholarship has helped me in more ways than one; it allows me to pursue an education that I can utilize to further my passions. It means a lot to me that the organization’s goals align with my personal values of making education accessible to everyone regardless of gender or socioeconomic status. I hope to one day return to Bangladesh and open a school that can continue to create such positive change and break the cycle I once saw when I was younger.

Sincerely,

Simran Hussain
Oxford College of Emory University 2021
Goizueta Business School 2023