From California to Dhaka: My Journey as a Bangladeshi-American Intern
As my place of origin, Bangladesh has always been my second home, recalling frequent visits from California during summer vacations and even a period of living there for a few years. But this summer, as my family was planning a six-week stay with family in Dhaka, I realized that I was already seventeen years old, ready to apply to university, a much-changed person from the last time I visited Bangladesh as a young child. There had to be something more that I could do and see - a unique side and experience in Bangladesh that would help me explore my purpose and the person I want to become while helping others as well.
Enter the Agami Education Foundation. Through their website, I was able to connect with Agami leaders before my visit and express my desire to intern with them during the summer in Bangladesh. Though only in high school and not fluent in Bangla, I was passionate about pursuing public policy as a major, and as someone who loves working with other students and fighting for equity in education, I felt that Agami could give me real insight into this line of work, especially as a nonprofit organization.
Through my internship and a visit to one of Agami’s schools, I have learned more than I ever imagined - about the dedication and drive it takes to fight for these underprivileged students and their rights to quality education, and the difference one can make in one child’s life by sharing with them opportunities to learn and grow in various fields.
Now, at the start of my final year of high school, I feel that this has been an irreplaceable experience, especially right before I decide my university major and potentially the kind of work that I will do for the rest of my life. Meeting those students in schools in not just any country but from Bangladesh made me feel right at place; this is my country, and this is the work I want to pursue so that one day, I can shape policies that can effectively help children, in America and around the world, who are experiencing the unfair consequences of inequity in our education system. Every child has the right to learn, but hopefully, even as an adult, I will continue to exercise that right throughout all of my experiences.