Abbis Haider Jaffri | ISO Leadership Award
Abbis Haider Jaffri is from Pakistan and graduated with a Ph.D. in Kinesiology, Sports Medicine.
How was your UVA experience?
Jaffri: I had a very fruitful four years of Ph.D. at UVA. This was an outstanding opportunity to connect with renowned scientists, professors, and instructors. I developed intellectual curiosity, learned science from my professors and peers while gradually becoming independent in my ideas and projects.
EASIL, my lab group, is renowned in the country for producing great scientists. I am proud of being part of such a great lab group. The academic and scientific rigor at UVA has prepared me well as a future faculty and I hope to keep this legacy of knowledge moving forward. In addition, UVA also was a great place to interact and meet people from different backgrounds which made this experience more eclectic. Overall, I think that my experiences at UVA are invaluable, and I will cherish being a HOO for a lifetime.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Jaffri: I have accepted a faculty position on tenure-track in a physical therapy department. Teaching and research are a passion of mine and I feel content to be pursuing my career in academics. I see myself training future health care professionals who can be productive members of society. I feel that the Ph.D. is just the start of the process of learning. I believe that there is still a lot to learn, and improve as an instructor, scientist, and as a human. As Carl Sagan once said, “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known”. And the beauty of staying in academia is the quest to know the unknown. This continuous learning process is exciting for me because it breaks the monotony and presents new challenges at work, which is exciting, isn’t it?
What advice would you give to new international students?
Jaffri: My advice to new international students would be to reach out to professors on Grounds and be an active learner. In my lab group I was the only international Ph.D. student, however, I was always welcomed and encouraged by my faculty to participate. I was fortunate to have a great faculty and lab group. I think new international students need to be confident about themselves and take full benefit of this outstanding opportunity. An answer is just a question away.
Hamed Joodaki | ISO Academic Excellence Award
Hamed Joodaki is from Iran and graduated with a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
How was your UVA experience?
Joodaki: Any new experience makes us a more complete person. I believe the most eye-opening experience of my life so far has been studying and living in the US. For example, I got to meet and talk to people with diverse backgrounds and opinions here at UVA. Also, while pursuing a Ph.D. I learned how to tackle a problem that I have not faced before and how to look at a problem from different points of view. I hope that it leads to critical thinking and open-mindedness, the quality of believing that I might be wrong even about my most cherished beliefs.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Joodaki: During my Ph.D., I did research on pedestrian and occupant safety, vehicle restraint system design, and head impact biomechanics. I am glad that I chose a research area, through which, I contributed to improving public health. It is difficult to predict where I will be in 10 years. However, I would like to continue to use my knowledge and experiences to do something useful for society.
What advice you would give to new international students?
Joodaki: My advice to new international students is to use this opportunity to know themselves and enrich their understanding of the world, in which, they live, to not forget the reasons that they have chosen to study abroad, to do their best, and to take steps toward self-actualization. As Benjamin Franklin said “I am a strong believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it”, and as Saadi, the Persian poet, said ”going down the path of a wasteland is better than sitting idly; even though I might fail my desire, I would try my best”.
Huiru Shen | ISO Academic Excellence Award
Huiru Shen is from China and graduated with a Master of Landscape Architecture.
How was your UVA experience?
Shen: As a landscape architecture student, I explored and learned the ways to document and appreciate this beautiful world and precious landscape moments. By perceiving and depicting the balance between human and nature within my professors and colleagues’ help, I am growing and developing as a “landscape translator”.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Shen: A great landscape architect, a nature observer, a public space negotiator, a live human who keeps exploring the way to perceive and conceive the world.
What advice you would give to new international students?
Shen: Never be afraid of expressing your ideas and concerns – each thought is worthy of being heard and considered.
