The 2020 GEJ Scholars are selected as they exemplify LAJF’s mission of fostering a lifelong commitment to compassionate and responsible leadership for the betterment of our communities. Over the coming months, we will feature the 2020 GEJ Scholars so that you can get to know them. To learn more about this and other opportunities for CRS alums, please visit our website. Madina is the youngest GEJ Scholarship recipient this cycle.
When I first started high school, I began looking for opportunities to realize my old dream of traveling to the USA, seeing different people and places, exchanging our knowledge and experiences, and just practicing my English with native speakers. I couldn’t find this opportunity at first, and most of the programs were for college students but not high schoolers. Even if there were some, they were costly for my family to afford. I was disappointed. But when I heard about Camp Rising Sun, I became thrilled and hopeful. Thanks to CRS I haven’t just realized my dreams, I’ve gained even more. It would not be an exaggeration to say that indeed, CRS changed the way I look at the world, and more importantly it changed the way I look at myself.
Camp Rising Sun became the foundation of my growth. From our regular reflections and discussions at Camp, I learned to be more confident in myself and share my thoughts and feelings with other people. At first, it was hard for me to do because before Camp I used to not share my thoughts, feelings, and worries a lot with others and kept everything in myself to rethink and resolve. However, Camp taught me that by sharing and reflecting, it can become much easier for me and others to understand me and to help. Now I am more open to expressing my feelings, thoughts, and ideas with people around me. Additionally, by attending Camp Rising Sun, I became a stronger, more independent person. I was more than 6000 miles away from my home and family for the first time and that was hard for me, but as a result, I think it prepared me for an independent, adult life. Now attending a university abroad, away from my family, won’t be so hard and stressful, because Camp prepared me for it.
Part of what I really liked at CRS was how the same-age girls from many different places were gathered in one Camp, where we could not only share our experiences but also become more established in ourselves and our lives. Girls from around the world showed me what real friendship is. From our Teamworks and Project time, I learned to be more hard-working and felt the importance of working together as a group. From Instructions and Evening Programs, I learned a lot too. I learned about topics that I would never have thought would be so interesting for me like ecofeminism, vegetarianism, poetry, and others. From Council, I don’t know why but I still have goosebumps. Maybe it’s because the speeches of the counselors were so heart-touching. From those speeches, I learned what it is like to be yourself and to be brave enough to live the life you are dreaming of. I was always dreaming of studying in the USA and now it’s coming true. Next spring I am going to attend Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE.
I’m extremely interested in psychology and neuroscience and am going to major in this field. I want to learn more about how the human brain works and how our minds and the way we think can be the cause of making our lives and the lives of others better or worse, depending on us ourselves. I want to do research in this sphere to find ways of using our brains more effectively and positively and to carry my knowledge and discoveries to people. During the next 10 years, I hope to become a specialist in the neuroscience sphere and help people improve the way they think in order for them to understand themselves better, to achieve inner happiness, to live better lives and to work more effectively.
During my college years, I am planning to be involved in many research opportunities and internships and hope to study abroad many times, because CRS made me value the benefits of intercultural education. I’ll be attending many seminars and conferences in Europe and I’ll be actively involved in community service, volunteerism, and projects in the USA and in Asia. I will also continue to seek new talented, ambitious youth to connect them to Camp Rising Sun.
As we don’t have an Alumni Association here in Tajikistan, I’m trying to create one, but we need to have more alumni in Tajikistan to create our team. So for now, before officially having an Alumni Association in our country, I’m trying my best to promote the CRS Program in Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries independently . After coming back from camp, I organized many information sessions in high schools, universities, and other educational centers of Tajikistan. During my information sessions, I took responsibility to encourage my audience with my speeches about being courageous, taking advantage of every opportunity, being active, and helping the world. Later, upon numerous requests by students and educational organizations, I also organized many online information sessions. One with Education USA Network and several more with students from other regions of Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries too, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. I have also created a public Facebook group to attract people and help those who are interested in applying to CRS in the upcoming years, where I regularly share information, resources, and deadlines. I’m doing all of this and will continue to do so because I am so enthusiastic about CRS and want to let students in Central Asia know about this amazing program.
Overall, I am very thankful to the Camp Rising Sun Program and the Louis August Jonas Foundation for giving me such a great opportunity and foundation for my further growth. I am looking forward to achieving all of my goals and dreams and even more because Camp Rising Sun helped me to believe that everything is possible if you truly want and believe in it!
Here is the link to the Facebook Group “Camp Rising Sun - Central Asia” that I’ve created for posting information, resources, and deadlines of CRS for interested students.