Monday September 8th, 2025

How did you decide you wanted to go to grad school?

I think it was in my last year of my undergraduate degree. I met an amazing professor and, after taking many of her classes, I approached her to do a one-on-one course to pursue my own research interests because none of the courses available were resonating with me. That's when I truly fell in love with research. Through this one-on-one course, I was able to learn how to pose my own research questions, design a research project, read relevant literature to find answers to my questions, and articulate those results in writing. Suddenly, I had so many research ideas and so many questions that needed answers. My professor became a mentor of mine and supported me in applying for grad school. I went on to do a professional Master's degree in archival studies but also did the thesis option so that I could be a strong candidate for a PhD program in the future. Academic mentors are so vital for your career! 

What were your parents expectations about you continuing to study in grad school?

I think they understood what a professional degree was (my archivist degree) so they were supportive of that. My own father has a professional Master's degree in Engineering from Afghanistan so he understood my choice. Once I finished the Master's degree, I entered the workforce as an archivist and worked full-time for a little while. They certainly did not understand why I wanted to give up my job for a doctoral degree in the same field but, ultimately, they trusted me and, therefore, supported my academic career.

Would you recommend not taking breaks between degrees in your experience?

So I took many breaks between degrees and I still got into a doctoral program. After my undergraduate degree, I needed to pay off some loans so I worked full-time for a year to save some money. After that year of work, I entered my 2-year Master's program in archival studies. Following graduation, I worked as an archivist full-time for three years before deciding to do my PhD. As of now (September 2025), I am in my fourth year of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information PhD program.

What were your motivations for starting ACASN?

I noticed how few of us, Afghans, existed in academic, scholarly spaces, and I wanted to put an end to that. It's so important for Afghans to understand that they can choose academia and thrive in it if they wanted to. I want ACASN to be where Afghans turn to for mentorship and guidance in the academic field.

Monday October 21st, 2024

Salam Shuhiba Jan. How are you currently doing?

I'm doing quite well, adjusting to maternity leave as well as I can. It's been a long time since I've had a break from academics like this. I generally went from degree-to-degree with no breaks so it's been nice to reflect and actually miss and appreciate my work. 

Congratulations//mubarak bashe! Would you recommend not taking breaks between degrees in your experience?

Thank you//tashakor. The way it worked out for me I had one longer break (8 months) between my course-based Masters at Guelph and my thesis-based Masters at Queen's. I used that time to really decide what I wanted to do with my career and life in ways that were very fulfilling. From there I didn't have any breaks between my studies and current position as a Postdoc and although I feel it's worked out well for me, I wish I had taken a little bit of a break between at least finishing my Ph.D studies and my work as a Postdoc. But obviously bills need to be paid so jumping right into work was the best decision for me at the time. Breaks allowed for me to re-centre and really think hard about what I wanted for myself. If I hadn't taken that 8 month break between my Masters degrees I doubt this would've been my path.

How did you decide you wanted to go to grad school?

It was a little bit of a late realization. I didn't know enough in undergrad about research and graduate school. That's the thing about being 1st gen and without much community support or mentorship, I just didn't know what was out there or possible. My program did have an option for a 4th year honours thesis, but our class size was huge and there were only so many professors accepting students. I was very clueless. I applied for a course-based Masters as I was finishing my undergrad to kind of dip my toe into the research world and I absolutely fell in love with it. I had a fantastic mentor at the time (shoutout Dr. Neil MacLusky, father of Biomed at Guelph during my time) who really advocated for me to continue on with research and connected me to Dr. Anne Croy at Queen's University, my MSc. supervisor. She is still my mentor and helps me to this day. So really, seek out mentors and discuss your dreams and aspirations with them.

What were your parents expectations about you continuing to study in grad school?

My parents (like many others) wanted me to become a (medical) doctor, very typical of our parents. I did apply to medical school but I'm very happy with my decision to continue in research and not becoming a clinician, it's just not for me. They were a bit skeptical of what it would result in but ultimately my parents always supported my educational endeavours, especially my Baba jan. It was hard for them when I moved for my Masters and then continued onto my Ph.D, but they supported me 100% the entire way. Now my Baba jan just doesn't understand why I'm not paid glamorously in academia. 

What were your motivations for starting ACASN?

As someone of Afghan descent in research and academia, I find myself feeling quite alone at times when there are no other people who look like me or are from my background to relate to. I have four university degrees from three different Canadian institutions, yet I haven't had the chance to connect with other watandaars on my educational journey. I know we exist, but we need to unite together to support and encourage one another. I was a teaching assistant for many years at both Queen's University and the University of Ottawa and I only had one Afghan student during that entire time. I want other Afghans to see that we're here and that it's possible to exist and occupy these spaces. So I wanted to start a network where we could connect and support each other through higher education. 

What are your dreams/aspirations for ACASN?

I would love if it were to branch into a way for young Afghan-Canadians to seek support from other Afghan-Canadian academics in a mentorship capacity. I imagine one day we could also have a national conference to meet and discuss research challenges and opportunities to grow our community across the country. Also, I would love if we could support research by Afghans for Afghans.