“One evening in the summer of 2011, while practicing for his taekwondo class, a friend informed Haroon about a scholarship opportunity in the United States through the Afghan Scholars Initiative. The ambitious Haroon decided to try his luck, not realizing the immense impact it would have on his life.Haroon, whose parents are from the southern province of Nangarhar and who are educated, was born and raised in Kabul. The family never left Afghanistan, neither during the civil war nor when the Taliban took over in 1996. During Taliban rule, schools lacked almost everything, from qualified teachers to textbooks and furniture. When Haroon began attending school, he realized that in order to learn anything, even how to read and write, he would have to rely on his parents and four older siblings. When the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001, Haroon was excited that there were more teachers and additional opportunities to learn science. Haroon grew particularly fond of math thanks to his siblings, his engineer father, and his schoolteacher mother. By the time he was in seventh grade, Haroon knew how to solve twelfth grade math problems. Haroon excelled in all subjects; he was always the top student. He won multiple awards at his school, and the Afghan Ministry of Education sent two letters of appreciation. Haroon was an active member of the national taekwondo team and won many medals. He is inspired by the dedication of his favorite Afghan taekwondo player, Nisar Ahmad Bahawi.Haroon claims that he was initially reluctant to apply for the ASI scholarship because he doubted his English ability. However, his persistence in ASI’s ten-month mentorship program won him a scholarship to the Holderness School in Plymouth, New Hampshire. When he told his parents the news, his mom was in tears: as proud as she was of his accomplishment, she knew that he would have to leave home. It was difficult for Haroon to leave his family, but he had never been so sure about anything else in his life.Thinking back to the lack of educational resources under the Taliban, Haroon says he was awed by the facilities and quality of education at Holderness. For the first time, he was able to conduct and observe chemistry and biology experiments in a lab, something he only read about in Afghanistan. He quickly formed a close relationship with his advisor, Andrew Sheppe, whose kindness and wisdom has guided Haroon. He involved himself in basketball, tennis, and cycling with friends, and he joi