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Aga Khan Academies Alumni Update
Aga Khan Academies Alumni Update
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Stephen Githakwa: Video spotlight
This is Stephen, a student at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. His passion for community service shines as he expresses the growth in perspective he experienced through his education at the Academy.
Khushboo Khoja (Class of 2016): Giving back to communities
“My experience at the Academy was very significant as it made me realise that I am interested in working with social issues and helping communities,” reflects Khushboo Khoja, a 2016 graduate from the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad.
Her passion for helping others, which was sparked through service learning initiatives she participated in at the Academy, is something Khushboo has taken with her to university. She is currently enrolled in the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and recently completed her first year of post-secondary education. As a recipient of a tuition waiver through the Aga Khan Academies–Ontario tuition waiver programme, Khushboo is thankful for the opportunity to attend a university in Canada: “When I found out that I got the scholarship, it was a very grateful moment because it would change my whole life. The fact that I am able to get an education of this kind in Canada helps me build my future and enhances my entire quality of life.”
During her time at the Aga Khan Academy, Khushboo was able to help others improve their quality of life by volunteering at a government school for four years teaching English and math: “I always looked forward to finishing class and going there because those girls were so inspiring. Most of the girls didn’t come from as privileged backgrounds and didn’t have everything they needed, but were so happy and always so motivated and satisfied with everything they had.”
Khushboo continued this work through a summer internship in a village in India, where she learned more about the importance of education and awareness regarding sanitation and immunization: “While engaging with the community of the village and learning about their health and hygienic needs, we conducted school plays to spread awareness about the importance of healthy alcohol-free and tobacco-free lives. The special bond that I built with the people of the village motivates and inspires me to keep learning from the diverse communities I am surrounded with and making significant contributions in whatever ways I can. I am glad to have been opened to a new perspective in which a place does not necessarily have to be changed but has to first be accepted and appreciated.”
Khushboo attributes her ability to take her classroom learning and put it into practice to her time at the Academy: “I feel like my experience at the Academy allowed me to perceive in a more holistic and practical way. The experience was not just about what we were reading in books or learning, but also about incorporating values and ethics in our daily lives and applying our knowledge to better ourselves and the community. The integrated learning experience helped me learn how to learn, which I now carry with me wherever I go and whenever I am learning.”
During her short time in Canada, Khushboo has already begun making a difference in the community around her. Her volunteer activities include helping at the Merrymount Family Support and Crisis Centre, where she assists with counselling parents and children who are in crisis and/or experiencing times of transition. She was also elected to the executive team for the Ismaili Students Association as the ‘frosh representative’ where she has the opportunity to organise educational and social events for the members of the association: “I am the representative for the first-year students. I enjoy meeting new people from different cultures yet from the same community - the beautiful blend makes me appreciate the pluralistic atmosphere that’s created.”
She has also successfully applied for a leadership position on campus as a residence advisor where one of her primary roles will be to foster a community atmosphere in the residence. When not busy studying or volunteering, Khushboo also plays indoor soccer on the intramural team at Western.
One of Khushboo’s passions is working with women and children, promoting health and education. For Khushboo, going back to India and continuing this work is incredibly important: “I want to bring awareness and enrich the accessibility of resources. Sometimes it’s not about changing things but rather bringing a new perspective to people that may help them. Depending on the context, approaches to the occurring difficulties of people have to be altered, with broadening horizons.”
By Karina Hussein
Why Choose the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad
Admission to the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad is based on merit. This is broadly defined as exceptional intellectual potential, leadership, a commitment to learning, strong sense of integrity, and the desire to work towards and instigate positive change.
As part of a network of Academies, we have been established to provide exceptional students from all backgrounds with an outstanding education.
We seek students representing a diverse range of economic, cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. We look for students who have the ability and motivation to excel academically and who demonstrate leadership in community service and other co-curricular pursuits.
We are more than just residential schools that strive to give their students a sound academic foundation. We emphasise the importance of academic excellence while instilling in students a sense of civic responsibility and the desire, ability and commitment to give back to their communities locally and globally.
"In my view, the most important thing a student can learn in any educational institution is the ability to keep on learning."
Our educational approach measures success not just by academic achievement, but by how students apply what they know to make the world a better place. The overall educational programme is designed to foster students’ curiosity while providing them with the skills and intellectual confidence to engage with what they do not know and find answers and solutions.
Spotlight: Abdirahman Ibrahim
This is Abdirahman, a student at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. During his time at the Academy, he explored his wide-ranging abilities and developed an initiative that helped change the lives of young girls in Mombasa.
Ruhi Kamal Manek (Class of 2016): Advocating for Africa
Ruhi Kamal Manek, an alumnus of the Aga Khan Academies in Mombasa and now a sophomore at Yale University in the United States, took away one enduring lesson from the Academy: the importance of engaging in thoughtful and careful consideration of diverse opinions. She explains that it was her time at the Academy that forced her to reexamine her old-world views and believes that her new way of thinking as a citizen of the world was borne of her stay in residence at the school:
“Living with people from so many diverse backgrounds helped me appreciate differences in people. This experience further helped me feel comfortable interacting with people from diverse backgrounds and diverse cultures at Yale.”
Ruhi was born in Nairobi, Kenya and grew up in the small town of Eldoret. It was her desire to learn and challenge herself more that made her apply to the Academy.
“I could not think of a better place to do that than at the Academy,” Ruhi states. “Being admitted to the school was the beginning of a transformative journey for me - a defining moment in my academic and personal life.”
The Academy places immense importance on meaningful public service. Ruhi participated in numerous voluntary undertakings but it was involvement in the annual school-based deworming program in the impoverished Bombolulu area of Mombasa that had a lasting impact on her. Under this program, school children receive an oral dose of deworming medicine designed to lower their risk of infection by worms and thus enhance their health and school productivity.
“The experience opened my eyes,” Ruhi says. “The thought that something so trivial as administering a few drops of medicine in a child’s mouth can transform that child’s future was inspiring to me.”
Involvement in this program inspired Ruhi in many ways. Watching the children joyfully engage with life forced her to reflect on values of humility, modesty and gratification:
“As I stood among the children, I felt as though my heart had grown twice as large, making space for these beautiful souls. I was filled with an inexplicable amount of joy as I marveled at the contentment and optimism around me. Despite the conditions in which the children lived and learned, they were radiating with happiness. I was in awe. The whole experience reminded me of a quote by the Buddha: ‘The cessation of desire is the cessation of suffering.’”
After this experience at the Academy, Ruhi continued her volunteer work at Yale. She is part of the TEDxYale team and helps to organize seminars and conferences. She is a member of Yale UNICEF and is involved in fund-raising efforts to make a difference in children’s lives globally. Committed to women’s rights regarding education and leadership roles, Ruhi also joined the Yale chapter of the Circle of Women, a non-profit organization “that educates, inspires and empowers women to become leaders and peacemakers.”
Additionally, Ruhi is involved in developing a wellness curriculum for a girls’ secondary school in Orkeeswa, Tanzania, which promotes the ideas that healthy students are better learners and that focusing on wellness now can produce huge intergenerational benefits.
“My first year at Yale has undoubtedly been enhanced through my participation in activities that I have long been passionate about,” states Ruhi. She unequivocally credits the Academy’s International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and the residential program for her growth and personal development. “My journey at the Academy was one of the most intense yet fulfilling growth periods of my life. I think it is safe to say that it played a key role in helping me develop the person I am today.”
When asked what her aspirations are for the country of her birth, Ruhi radiates determination. “I want to help redefine the way in which the rest of the world views my country, and more particularly the African continent. I want to be an active agent in ensuring that our stories are no longer told for us but by us.”
She is also determined to promote education in her country. “I want to tackle the issue of the lack of education. I value nothing more than the education I have been so privileged to receive and the many opportunities that have come my way because of it. I wish to help provide the same for as many people as I possibly can in my country of origin and beyond.”
By Perviz Walji
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Stephen Githakwa: Video spotlight
This is Stephen, a student at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. His passion for community service shines as he expresses the growth in perspective he experienced through his education at the Academy.
Summer Service Internship 2019: Bridging Learning and Development
