Mehrimo Bakhtalieva left her home country to pursue an education abroad. One day she plans to return and give back to her community.
Mehrimo grew up in a remote region of Tajikistan, a small country in Central Asia. There is little diversity in Mehrimo’s hometown; everyone shares the same ethnicity, language, culture and values. It was an easy place for Mehrimo to grow up because everybody knew everybody. Mehrimo’s community is culturally Muslim, and most people are religious. However, because they are Ismaili - one of the most liberal branches of Islam, Mehrimo was able to acquire an education as a woman.
Mehrimo attended one of the best schools in her hometown for eleven years. In her last year, she decided she wanted to try something new. Mehrimo visited India as part of an international program, but her English was poor so it was difficult to communicate with others. While traveling in India, she believed the diversity was beautiful. She never felt this way at home, because every day felt the same and there was very little space for growth and learning. Inspired by her trip to India, Mehrimo dreamed of leaving her hometown and living in a diverse community. She wanted to get to know people from other cultures and places, and step out of her comfort zone.
After she graduated from her hometown school, Mehrimo received a full scholarship to a school in Japan, United World Colleges ISAK Japan. This school had an IB diploma program, a very academically rigorous program taught in English. Other students had stronger backgrounds in English, and went to similarly rigorous schools before. Mehrimo's hometown school was not at the same level academically, and she struggled to adapt.
Despite her academic difficulties, Mehrimo felt very privileged to be in Japan. She had outstanding professors and many new experiences. In Japan, she learned to ride a bike, which is now one of her favorite activities. Mehrimo had many first-time outdoor experiences, activities that had never been an option for her before. Now she loves outdoor activities, and is very grateful for her opportunity to be introduced to them in Japan. Mehrimo was very impressed by the women in Japan because of how many outdoor activities they were engaged in.
Because of the amazing experiences she had at United World Colleges ISAK Japan, Mehrimo wanted to use her privilege and opportunities to help others. She founded a project to create college preparation courses for students in her home community. Her target audience is girls and students from low-income families and remote areas. Mehrimo’s goal is to equip the students with skills and tools to attend their dream higher education schools. Mehrimo partnered with local university students to teach English, math and critical thinking skills through a summer camp. The first year, their success rate of sending students to higher education was 30-40%. After that, it jumped to 60%. Before attending college in the US, Mehrimo spent a gap semester building curriculum, finding a group to run the project, and making it sustainable long-term. She also found sponsors from reliable sources to support the project every year.
At school in the US, Mehrimo is studying to be a Geology-Physics major. She wants to work in sustainable energy production in Tajikistan, and transition the energy grid in her home community to be more sustainable. A lack of experts in sustainable energy is a big issue in Mehrimo’s country, because most people do not attend higher education to be able to work on these issues. However, experts are needed now more than ever. If the world does not dramatically decrease our carbon footprint, Tajikistan will sink and disappear by 2050. Mehrimo plans to help her community battle and adapt to climate change.
Mehrimo is a first-year student at Whitman College. She grew up in a small town in Pamirs, Tajikistan, and prior to starting college in the United States went to highschool at United World Colleges ISAK Japan. She is planning to major in Geology and Physics. Her goal is to contribute significantly to sustainable energy production in her home country and the world at large. She enjoys climbing, spending time outdoors and drinking a lot of tea.
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