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Daughter of Afghan Refugees in US Becomes Rhodes Scholar

Asma Rahimyar, 20, the American daughter of Afghan refugees, has been named a Rhodes Scholar, according to the US newspaper the Hartford Courant. The extremely prestigious international award for scholarship is sponsored by the UK's Oxford University,
 

She was among 32 Americans chosen from more than 2,300 applications, the report said. 

“It happened so quickly,” said Rahimyar, as quoted by the Courant. “I didn’t even wait to run to the living room. I just called my mom and said, ‘Guess what? I’m a Rhodes Scholar.’ "

Next October, she will attend Oxford University along with more than 100 students representing 60 countries.  

Rahimyar is a senior at Southern Connecticut State University. The president of the university, Joe Bertolino, said in a statement the award is a source of great pride for the university and all those who have supported Rahimyar throughout her “journey of great accomplishment.”  

 “Being named a Rhodes Scholar is a tribute to her outstanding qualities as a student and her passion for human rights,” he wrote. 

Rahimyar told the Courant Monday, “I do everything that I do for my parents.” 

“To see their pride not only expressed, but in their eyes, their face ... it’s the culmination of so much effort and so much striving, just generationally,” she told the Hartford Courant.

Rahimyar’s parents fled Afghanistan around 1997, during wartime. Two years later, she was born in the US.

Rahimyar grew up in Connecticut, a state on the eastern coast of the United States.

The first American-born child in her family, she has two older brothers and one younger brother. 

Daughter of Afghan Refugees in US Becomes Rhodes Scholar

Next October, Asma Rahimyar will attend Oxford University along with more than 100 students representing 60 countries.  

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Asma Rahimyar, 20, the American daughter of Afghan refugees, has been named a Rhodes Scholar, according to the US newspaper the Hartford Courant. The extremely prestigious international award for scholarship is sponsored by the UK's Oxford University,
 

She was among 32 Americans chosen from more than 2,300 applications, the report said. 

“It happened so quickly,” said Rahimyar, as quoted by the Courant. “I didn’t even wait to run to the living room. I just called my mom and said, ‘Guess what? I’m a Rhodes Scholar.’ "

Next October, she will attend Oxford University along with more than 100 students representing 60 countries.  

Rahimyar is a senior at Southern Connecticut State University. The president of the university, Joe Bertolino, said in a statement the award is a source of great pride for the university and all those who have supported Rahimyar throughout her “journey of great accomplishment.”  

 “Being named a Rhodes Scholar is a tribute to her outstanding qualities as a student and her passion for human rights,” he wrote. 

Rahimyar told the Courant Monday, “I do everything that I do for my parents.” 

“To see their pride not only expressed, but in their eyes, their face ... it’s the culmination of so much effort and so much striving, just generationally,” she told the Hartford Courant.

Rahimyar’s parents fled Afghanistan around 1997, during wartime. Two years later, she was born in the US.

Rahimyar grew up in Connecticut, a state on the eastern coast of the United States.

The first American-born child in her family, she has two older brothers and one younger brother. 

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