This month, Ghufran Hussain received her bachelor’s degree in biology.
The second of five children, Ghufran Hussain was born several months prior to the commencement of the Iraq War. Her family fled the fighting to Jordan before coming to the US in 2010 and relocating to North Bergen.
Equipped with a biology bachelor’s degree, she spoke earlier this month at Rutgers University-Newark during her commencement ceremony. Hussain intends to enroll in medical assistant programs.
As an immigrant’s child, you always feel like you have to aim high. Many of us want careers in business, law, or medicine in an effort to provide the greatest life for our parents,” says Hussain, a chemistry minor as well. “Myself and my mother always said I could be anything I wanted, but I still want to study medicine as a small token of my gratitude for them and their journey. I also enjoy learning about the functions of the body and how to enhance them.
Hussain’s journalism studies provided him with a creative outlet and a potential lifelong pastime, as they were drastically different from the path of biology and chemistry.
“Although I enjoy writing, storytelling, and conducting interviews, I tend to envision myself as a writer much later in life. Hussain states, “I could see myself pursuing that artistic side as a personal interest in the future.
Hussain was involved in campus life at Rutgers-Newark in addition to her studies. She tutored other students in English, worked as a student worker in the Office of Student Life and Leadership, and served as NJPIRG president in the past. She also worked as a volunteer EMT in the neighborhood and volunteered at the JBJ Soul Kitchen on campus.
When the pandemic kept the community off campus during Hussain’s first year, she spent time looking for volunteer opportunities and discovered the NJPIRG Renewable Energy Act, which was a petition for the state’s use of cleaner energy and environmental sustainability.
Hussain adds, “I fell in love with civic engagement after spending time working with them and wanted to find even more ways to better the community around me.”
Hussain sought improved health outcomes for Newark residents by, among other things, organizing contests for her NJPIRG and Newark classmates to gather the most plastics off campus. Additionally, she will advocate for environmentally friendly projects and encourage involvement in Rutgers-Newark’s town Engagement Day, which is an opportunity for students to volunteer at nearby organizations in an effort to benefit the town. Hussain believes she has made an impact after Rutgers-Newark won NJ PIRG’s Ballot Bowl, an initiative to get students registered to vote, where Rutgers-Newark placed first the previous two years because of her leadership.
“While it saddens me to see community members suffer from homelessness and hunger, I am really inspired by the fact that my peers and I have a direct impact on those in need,” Hussain adds. “At first, I just did it for fun, but looking back, I see how much these opportunities have opened doors for me that I was unaware existed.”
Hussain intends to continue volunteering in the community and obtain some clinical experience while she waits for the outcomes of her applications to physician assistant schools, including Rutgers.
Hussain thanks her family for getting her to this point by thinking back on their journey.
“I try my best to help in the community since I am aware of the struggles my family faced in order to provide a better life for us kids. When we arrived, there was a village nearby, and I want to make sure that anyone else who decides to establish a new life here would also find a friendly village.
