Wadjia Sharif, Biotechnology Student

Wadjia Sharif hails from nearly halfway around the world, from a country where a woman seeking an education is still difficult even when the law says everyone is equal. She and her family fled Kandahar, Afghanistan for the safe haven of Russia, where many from their homeland ventured to leave behind a succession of wars. Despite the fact that Afghans in Russia make up the third-largest overseas Afghan community, cultural differences made it difficult for Wadjia and her family to stay in Soviet territory. It's been five years since the United Nations helped them find homes in the United States, but it's still been a tricky transition that few native-born U.S. college students can relate to.

"If I still lived in Afghanistan, I'd be expected to be at home. In Kandahar, there are no schools for women," says Sharif, who has been back to her native country several times in the past few years. "A lot of people have negative feelings about school and education."

Sharif started in NCC's biotechnology program in 2009, and is laying the foundation for what she hopes will turn into a pharmaceutical career. She was inspired by both the lack of quality healthcare available for Afghan residents, and by pharmacists she has interacted with at her full-time job in the neonatal unit at St. Luke's Hospital.

"The pharmacists at the hospitals here advise patients on their medications because they have actually studied for a long time and know what they're talking about," Sharif says. "In Afghanistan, we don't have very good healthcare. After just a few years of studying, students can call themselves 'doctors' and prescribe medication. If I ever go back to my country [to stay], it's going to be with skills that I can use to help the people there. NCC is the first step to starting my education."

Sharif has fit right into the NCC community, joining Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) and taking part in other student-led activities while also maintaining good academic standing. That she has bonded with her peers and with her professors does not make her different from any other student, but Sharif's demeanor suggests a responsibility and wisdom beyond her years. She is cheerful, alert, and knows what she is talking about and exactly how she wants to say it.

"I love this college," Sharif responds when asked what it is she wants others to know about her. "The teachers here are very good. The students here are all ages, and they are easy to work with. I brought friends here to visit, and they were impressed and said that it seemed like a four-year college."

And what does Sharif tell those in her native land about her educational journey?

"A lot of young people in Afghanistan have their eyes closed to the world. I'm proud to tell the people and the families that I meet that I go to college. I'm proud to tell them that I go to NCC."