{"id":7306,"date":"2025-05-13T15:20:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T19:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=7306"},"modified":"2025-05-13T18:50:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T22:50:27","slug":"hamtramck-high-school-student-mst-begum-fulfills-her-dream-to-get-into-harvard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/hamtramck-high-school-student-mst-begum-fulfills-her-dream-to-get-into-harvard\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamtramck High School student Mst Begum fulfills her dream to get into Harvard"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nargis Rahman<\/b><\/p>\n

Hamtramck High School senior Mst Begum dreamed of going to Harvard for years. She constantly told her family this while in high school.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve dreamed about it for five years now, and being the first in my family to go abroad go to Massachusetts is a big deal, and especially as a woman, it’s really incredible that I get this opportunity, because I know a lot of people are in my position that wish they can go and they aren’t able to, and I’m just incredibly grateful,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum\u2019s family immigrated to the U.S. from <\/span>Sylhet, <\/span>Bangladesh, in 2012.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI am the second in my family to go to to go to college,\u201d she shared, explaining she began the school system taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in elementary school.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum says that despite her parents not speaking English, they support her educational journey by encouraging her to excel academically.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents had to sacrifice everything to come here and give me that chance because they weren’t even able to go to college. So I it’s like, an incredible journey,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum is graduating with a 4.4 GPA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum was accepted into several colleges \u2013 Harvard, Columbia University, University of Michigan, University of San Diego, Oakland University, Wayne State University, University of Santa Barbara, among others \u2013 but ultimately she accepted a spot at Harvard University as a chemical and physical biology major, hoping to be in the medical field in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum expressed her appreciation for going to diverse schools in Hamtramck.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI can always talk to my peers and learn something new about their culture or their language, and I think that’s what I admire most about Hamtramck,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum said several teachers including Miss Perry, Ms Bila and Mr. Sarkic supported her in school.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum said the process of getting into an Ivy League school can be intimidating. However, she reached out to Hamtramck High School alum Sammi<\/span> Samim<\/span>, who graduated last year, and also attends Harvard.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI would say it’s really harder, especially from Hamtramck, if you if you have parents that didn’t go to college, if you don’t know anything about the college admission process, I think it was a lot of like online research, and also like contacting fellows, like other past alumni from Hamtramck, like Sammi who got in. It’s really helpful,\u201d she explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Be the change<\/b><\/p>\n

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During her time at Hamtramck High School, Begum started the Medical Explorers Club, an afterschool program to help students learn about careers in medicine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Stemming from her own interest, Begum said there were limited opportunities for students like her to learn about the field.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things I really wanted to do was make Hamtramck students be competitive applicants when they applied to colleges. So one of the activities we did was we collaborated with Wayne State University and got over 40 students CPR certified,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The group also created The Pulse podcast, interviewing healthcare workers, as a way to share information with students who aren\u2019t able to stay afterschool due to family or professional commitments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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She says this has increased students\u2019 interest in the healthcare field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI saw that a lot of people were telling me, \u2018Wow, I do want to pursue careers in healthcare,\u2019 because they didn’t see that it was a possibility,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

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Beyond the classroom\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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Last year Begum wrote the book, \u201c<\/span>Sun-kissed<\/span><\/a>,\u201d illustrated by<\/span> Shuvomita Dey, to teach children from communities of color about the importance of wearing sunscreen to protect your skin.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Begum said wearing sunscreen in Bangladeshi culture is an underrated topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSunscreen is not widely promoted. And so I thought it was really important to get this really niche topic out there,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum also wanted to represent characters like her in literature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI wanted there to be women of color represented, and also Muslim representation, because growing up, I read so many books, but there was not people who looked like me in them, and to see like a Muslim, a hijabi being the main character was really important to me,\u201d she shared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Dream big\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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She wants students to know the sky is the limit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever is meant for you will happen. And it’s just you have to dream big and just know that if you have a goal, you can attain it,\u201d she shared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Begum hopes to be a good role model for others students – especially girls.<\/span><\/p>\n

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She said she would be happy to help other high school students through the college application process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Abdulmalik Algahaim is the Hamtramck Public School District Board President. He said he\u2019s proud of Mst Begum for her accomplishments.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI like to congratulate Mst and thank her family for all the support they provided her. I want to thank the teachers, educators and administrators. It takes all of us, together to help students achieve, and I like to continue that path,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Algahaim said Begum is the third student to his knowledge who has recently been admitted to Harvard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHere in Hamtramck Public Schools, we engage, elevate and empower our students, and we try to bring them all the resources we can to provide for them so they can shine the way Mst shone this year,\u201d he exclaimed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He said he hopes more students follow in her footsteps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI like to see many students, not just one a year. I\u2019d like to see a couple, even 20-30 students a year. That’d be fantastic,\u201d he expressed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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