Contributed by
Mahdia C.
I was eight years old when my family moved from the small town of Sylhet, Bangladesh and replanted us in the melting pot of New York City. My parents and I found ourselves in a country where neither they, nor I, knew how things worked.
Little did I know at the time how one’s educational and professional growth in this country are determined by their background, environment, and access to opportunities. After becoming an OppNet Fellow, I quickly realized the importance of mentorship, support, and guidance as a student from a low-income household. Students from under-resourced communities and backgrounds, especially in New York City, are entangled in a cycle characterized by lack of structural support and access to opportunities of growth that often shape and guide one’s future endeavors.
In my view, this is the exact injustice the OppNet Fellows program is trying to right. Through OppNet, I was able to intern at an education nonprofit called the GO Project, which provides students from under-resourced schools with academic, personal, and emotional support to go forward in reaching their goals. It was at St.Luke’s church in Greenwich Village, where every day, I would meet 20 enthusiastic first graders with infinite potential, going to schools that are unable to adequately meet their needs due to lack of funding and support. From “I want to be a chef!” to “I want to be a marine biologist,” no dream was too big for these bubbly first graders. Slowly, I realized that change was possible. This type of local, personal, and grassroots work that nonprofits such as GoProject and OppNet engage in is so incredibly valuable to youth that are hindered from realizing their full potential because of systems outside of their control. As a student from a low-income, underrepresented background, I recognize the importance of a support system.
OppNet showed me the power of making a meaningful difference through something as simple as access and opportunity.
The summer of my junior year in high school, I was able to participate in a summer immersion program through OppNet in Uruguay. While in Uruguay, I became interested in development in low-income countries that lead to greater social welfare and physical and mental health for those living there. Combining my experiences as an immigrant, a Bangladeshi-American, and my first hand and second hand experiences with underserved communities in Uruguay and with the GO Project, I realized that I wanted to understand the root causes of inequality, and how best to address the disparities that deprive communities of their most basic needs and rights.
Currently, I study development sociology at Cornell, with interests in industrial and labor relations, and social entrepreneurship. I am amazed by the books I read on development and inequality and the experiences I get to have with campus organizations dedicated to addressing social justice issues. As a research assistant to my professor of a social inequalities class, I am also able to better understand how to apply this learning in practice. It never escapes me that there are students from all different backgrounds, who, similar to me, would reach their highest potential if given the right support and guidance—support and guidance I was able to activate through OppNet. Because of unwavering and heartfelt guidance, I was able to find a personal and professional path that honors my passion for strengthening underserved communities. OppNet showed me the power of making a meaningful difference through something as simple as access and opportunity.
Mahdia Chowdhury is an OppNet Fellow and sophomore at Cornell University.
