View Source | April 16, 2019
Maryam Abdul Rashid took a big risk enrolling in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. Coming from Malaysia, she said sustainability was a foreign concept and people back home questioned what her future might be. But she took the leap anyway — with a big payoff.
"I forever feel blessed to have been given the chance to travel 9,021 miles just to come to school here," Rashid said, adding that her favorite part of being an ASU student is the diversity she is able to experience at a school that values different people and their cultures.
This May, Rashid is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in sustainability, and she is due to return to ASU for one more year through ASU’s 4+1 accelerated Master of Sustainability Solutions program. Rashid has made the most of her ASU experience by taking on many roles, including: School of Sustainability ambassador, president of the Honor Society for Sustainability, ASU Global Guide mentor, director of service for Alpha Kappa Psi, community assistant in the Hassayampa dorms and intern with Think City in Malaysia.
Rashid became involved with many of these positions because she wanted to pay it forward. When she was a freshman, she said older ASU students helped her adjust to life in the United States when she was scared and feeling alone during her first time living abroad. Ever since then, she wanted to help other new students transition to college life.
“No matter who you are or where you come from, I feel like ASU gives a 1,001 opportunities to explore and grow as a person — and that's a huge reason I love studying at ASU,” Rashid said.