Current Recipient
Najia Afshari, who came to the U.S. in 2000 from Pakistan after fleeing the civil war in her native Afghanistan six years earlier, received the John F. Kennedy Award as the Class of 2007's outstanding undergraduate and addressed her classmates at the University of Massachusetts Boston's 39th commencement, held June 1 on campus at 10 a.m.
Afshari, a Chelsea resident who received a bachelor's degree in human services management from the College of Public and Community Service (CPCS), came to UMass Boston with an impressive real-world resume, including several years of work in Pakistan for the International Rescue Committee, the Afghan Institute for Learning, and the Cooperation Center for Afghanistan.
That mission of service to others took on a new dimension when she arrived in Boston with her mother and four siblings, where she became, in her words, "essentially, the head of my household," responsible for working full time so that her siblings could go to school. But Afshari was also determined to continue with her career and her education, working for Catholic Charities' Refugee and Immigration Services program and taking classes at Bunker Hill Community College before transferring to UMass Boston in the fall of 2005.
"We have been fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from Najia," said CPCS assistant professor Lorna Rivera. "Najia has a brilliant, critical mind, and she consistently produces graduate-level quality work. In our college, Najia has been recognized as an exceptional student leader."
First awarded in 1977, the JFK Award is the highest honor that an undergraduate can receive. Nominees are evaluated on the basis of their academic record, their service contributions, and their overall contributions as a citizen of the University. The chosen recipient receives a bust of President John F. Kennedy, an honorarium, and the opportunity to speak at the main University commencement ceremony.
In their recommendation letters for the award, Rivera and other CPCS faculty said Afshari was not just an outstanding student but also a colleague, working as a Peer Advising Tutor and also frequently meeting with both professors and students outside of classroom time. Afshari's supervisor at Catholic Charities also had high praise for her work to help hundreds of refugees resettle in the Boston area.
"Najia embraced her work with compassion and a respect for the individual that enabled refugees to maintain their dignity and sense of purpose," said Deborah Hughes, director of Refugee and Immigration Services. "Although highly principled, Najia is also a realist, and she directed her clients with a forthrightness that was tempered with personal knowledge of the searing refugee experience."
Upon graduation, Afshari hopes to continue her work with the state Office for Refugees and Immigrants, and said she plans to continue her education at the graduate level.
"I'd love to go into a master's program, either international development or public policy or public administration- something that I can offer my education to, and relate it to most of the people in the world, not just in a specific area," she said. "Working at the policy level, either state or federal, or go to the United Nations or international development organizations."
Wherever Afshari's mission takes her, those who know her at UMass agree that she'll go far."I am certain that Najia will be a strong champion for human rights and in particular, for the rights of immigrants and refugees," said Rivera. "Najia will always exceed expectations."
- - -
The general procession began at 10:00 a.m. The university conferred 1,762 undergraduate degrees and 860 graduate degrees and certificates. In addition to honoring the JFK Award winner, three faculty members were recognized with the Chancellor's Distinguished Scholarship Award, the Chancellor's Distinguished Service Award, and the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award.