WM: Where around the world have you lived and how has that in uenced you?

FW: I was born and raised in a relatively conventional home in Pakistan where I went to school up until middle school. I moved to Romania for high school, graduating in 2009, and now I live in Boston, USA. I consider myself an amalgamation of the East and the West. Who I am today and the way I see others around me is largely in uenced by my exposure to people from various cultures and their di ering schools of thought. I feel blessed to have had this exposure but yearn to learn a lot more from the world; it has humbled me.

WM: How would you say AISB has in uenced you?

FW: AISB has played an incredible part in shaping me. Here I discovered talent I was unaware I possessed, I gained con dence that allowed me to break free from my own and societal limitations, I experienced love, friendship and spirituality, and nally I saw glimmers of hope for a bright future for myself. I ourished in the diverse environment and was awarded the Diversity Fund for my Masters in Boston.

I now teach children about diversity in my classroom every chance I get, and am  extremely thankful to AISB and all my teachers for paving this path for me.
 

WM: What did you study upon graduating AISB in 2009 and how has this in uenced your career?
 

FW: Upon graduating I studied Media Sciences and minored in Advertising in a local university in Pakistan. However, like a lot of people today, I changed careers very quickly. During my undergrad I started volunteering at a preschool in Pakistan; this turned into a full-time job and eventually lead me to Boston in 2014 where I completed my Masters in Early Childhood Education. I have worked with young children for ve years and nothing else ful lls me as much as this does. I learned about current research on educating children and realized how important it is to keep educating yourself and continue learning if you want to impart knowledge on to others, especially the younglings. It has also changed the way I perceive a child; as a whole person- outside the classroom walls.

I have recently materialized my dream of having a classroom that I lead and I work with an amazing team of educators. I try my best to include all academic and  developmental domains into my lesson plans and let the children decide from a plethora of opportunities how they choose to grow, much like my experience at AISB.

WM: What do you believe the role of an educator is and what motivates you?

FW: The role of an educator might have di erent meanings to everyone; to me it is many things. The most important is helping people realize their own potential and to instill the disposition of simply being a learner. When we teach someone why it is important to learn and then give them knowledge, they will learn about the world because they want to grow as human beings and become better as they do it. All we can hope for are healthy good citizens.

Having a good team to work with is quite a big motivating factor, along with the challenge that comes in implementing good strategies for a child’s learning. Naturally my general fascination with children keeps me going every day and is pretty much the most motivating factor there can be.

WM: What advice do you have for AISB students who also would like to pursue a career in education? 
 

FW: Do it. There is no other advice I can give my fellow AISB-ers. There can never be enough educators in this world and there is always a need for more. If you cannot nd the motivation within you to better the livelihoods of others then seek it elsewhere, but do seek it because everyone needs help. I’ve received plenty of criticism and suggestions against pursuing a career in Education for multiple reasons, but I cannot explain how satisfying it is to help a child realize their own potential.

WM: How do you see your future developing and what do you want to achieve?

FW: I see myself as the director or owner of my own school of children one day where teachers can learn from children and supervisors learn from the teachers. But before I do that I want to soak myself top to bottom in teaching and working closely with children. I hope to further my education to learn about child psychology and immerse myself in educational research. One of my goals is to work at a school like AISB, I hope to achieve this somewhere along the way too. 


Read the entire WORLD Magazine Fall 2016 edition here.