International Night - Two Journeys from Iraq to Fort Collins

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Old Town Library
Large Meeting Room Combo

Event Details

Please join Mirna Ayshoa for her presentation about her two different experiences in Fort Collins at Colorado State University and in Iraq. Mirna, who is from Iraq, recently completed her Master’s Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at CSU. She will talk about her journeys from Iraq to study here on two different occasions: how they were different, in part, because the situation changed between the two trips. She will discuss the obstacles that people go through and address the cultural differences, challenges, and how people respond to them differently. She will also show pictures from Iraq and tell about the ethno-religious diversity there. Mirna Ayshoa is originally from a village in the north and comes from a small ethno religious minority called Chalo-Assyrians where they speak Aramaic and are Catholic. She completed her studies and graduated in December 2016 and is currently working on getting her work permit and obtaining refugee status here. Between her visits to Fort Collins she worked with the dean of her college in Baghdad to educate other women about the leadership exchange program she came to Fort Collins with. Her efforts from 2011–2015, along with others, encouraged over 30 young Iraqi women to come to the U.S for this program over a 3-year period. She began her Master’s degree in Iraq studying pollution and water quality. While doing this, she organized an English club to help other Iraqi women with their English bringing American conversation partners. This was met with some resistance from conservative families who did not like their daughters learning English. She applied for and received a Fulbright Scholarship to come to CSU. Join us Tuesday October 9, 2018 at the Old Town Library Or Thursday October 25, 2018 at the Harmony Library Community Room
Event Type(s): Programs
Age Group(s): Adults
Karen Cagle
(970) 221-6740