Dear Dr. De Groot,I deeply appreciate the effort your graduation class is making with the *Fulfill the Potential* project. It is a privilege to be able to contribute to this project and I am more than happy to share my story if it will potentially help others begin their journey. My Smith education is most valuable to me and I would love to see other women from developing and/or post conflict countries receive this incomparable academic experience.
During Sierra Leone's civil war, my family and I resided in Nigeria. We only returned to the country in 2004 after the fighting had sufficiently died down, even though many still feared there would be another sudden outbreak of war. Luckily for us there was none. Thus I continued my secondary education in Freetown until 6th form, after which I applied for the United World College scholarship. On acceptance I left my family to complete my high school/college education in Norway.
Studying at the United World Colleges made Universities in the US much more accessible to me. We often had representatives from various US universities come to the college and give presentations about their schools.Like most people, I first heard about Smith from a friend who was applying here. Even though I was unable to visit the college before applying, I read a lot of positive things about Smith from college reviews written by students.This coupled with the fact that Smith is one of the only Liberal Arts colleges that offer a Bachelor of Science in Engineering made it the ideal college choice for me.
Fortunately, I was accepted to Smith college and offered a generous Financial Aid package. This made my college enrollment decision fairly simple and greatly eased my mother*s financial burden of having to concurrently pay university fees for three children. Most importantly it meant I could bypass my country's tertiary education system that has been continuously deteriorating since the civil war.
At Smith I have been welcomed into a society of ambitious and caring young women who have inspired and encouraged me through my first semester. Its amazing how despite everyone*s busy schedule people still takeout time to stop and chat with other students and learn more about what is happening in the lives of others. I am convinced that I made the right decision by coming here; at Smith I am not only receiving an exceptional education, but also making life long friendships.
Thank you for inviting me to be part of this project. Please let me know if there is anything else about me you would like me to share.
Fatima attended our class reunion - see pictures from that event here.
Regards,
Fatima Bassir
Smith College 2015
