What is a great challenge you’ve faced in your life?
“I live very far away from my parents and my grandparents. If they get sick now, if something happens to them, it’ll be very hard to go back. It’s actually my biggest fear, which I think makes it my biggest challenge. It takes almost one and a half days to go back, so it’s not something I can do easily.”
What’s a dream you wish to pursue once you’re out of college?
“To be completely honest, I really wanted to be an actor before coming to Gustavus. That’s a dream, becoming an actor, but after coming to Gustavus, my dreams aren’t really my focus right now. I would like to find a good job. I would really like to help under-privileged students in Pakistan. Anything I could do to help people in Pakistan would be a dream, but also becoming a Bollywood actor.”
What is your idea or plan on how to get there?
“For the acting part, I was in theatre back in my high school in Pakistan. I wanted to be part of the theatre here at Gustavus, but theatre here is extremely different than what I’m interested in. I want to be a Bollywood actor but this is a different type of acting here. As for getting a job, studying is really just my plan right now. I’m hoping I can find a good job. As for helping students, for the last three summers I’ve worked for three different NGOs in Pakistan that help under-privileged students. They have summer camps with different schools, and then the kids come and you teach them, you play games with them, and you spend time with them. The time spent depends on the camp, I typically spend about four weeks a summer. My grandfather built a school for under-privileged students in a small rural area, so my family helps him, as do I. For example, through working at Gustavus, I use some of my salary to help pay for students’ educations there.”
What is your advice for someone pursuing their goals?
“My advice, what I think, is that a person should do what they want to do, not what other people tell them. If you want to do something, then you do it. Be who you want to be. Be helpful, be open-minded to others, as it will help you develop into a good human being. Do this and someday you will hopefully achieve your dreams.”
Beneath The Crown was created by Nick Theisen (‘15). It is inspired by Humans of New York (HONY) and aims to bring the community of Gustavus Adolphus College closer together by providing the perspectives of the many different people who live and work at the school.