Chapter three
Mentorship
Nobody gets there alone, and neither should you
You worry too much. Just drink the damn water. Ziya, my sixth-grade math teacher in Kabul
I came to the United States with no English. A custodian drove me to my ACT because I had no ride. Teachers stayed late, friends shared their food, and a professor helped me move into my first apartment. Every step I took, someone walked part of it with me.
Mentorship is how I walk with the next person. If you are a student, a newcomer, or anyone trying to find your way into school or work in the U.S., I would be glad to help.
Why I can help
I have spent my life in academia, and also in the professional world of data, research, and policy. I know both roads, and I know how they meet.
You can do it too
I learned all seven of my languages on my own, from Pashto and Dari to English, my seventh. I taught myself to code from scratch. Nobody handed me a shortcut, but people did show me the way, and that made all the difference.
If I could do it, so can you. You don't have to figure it out alone.
1
What we can work on
College essays
Your story is your strength. I help you find it, shape it, and tell it in your own voice, the way I learned to tell mine.
SAT and ACT prep
A plan you can actually follow, practice that builds confidence, and someone to check in with along the way.
Applications, from high school to graduate school
Choosing schools, scholarships, financial aid, recommendation letters, and interviews, for undergrad and for graduate programs.
Learning a language
I speak Pashto, Dari, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, German, and English, and I learned most of them by doing. I can help you learn English, or one of mine.
Starting your career in the U.S.
Résumés, cover letters, interviews, and your first job. I have been a janitor, a driver, and a policy director, so I know there is more than one road in.
Civic education
How your government works, how to vote, and how to make your voice count in your community and your country's democracy.
2
How it works
Reach out and tell me a little about yourself: where you are now, and where you want to go.
If you are new to the U.S., join the free sessions, where we work on essays, test prep, applications, languages, careers, and civics together. Free sessions are for newcomers, regardless of immigration status.
Not a newcomer, or need one-on-one help sooner? Tell me what you need, and we will find a price that feels fair and kind to you.
I am also building a circle of mentors. If I am not the right fit for what you need, I will help you find someone who is.
Someone once told me I hadn't come too far to look down. Neither have you.
3