Youth and Community Studies senior Afsaneh Masoumi’s passion for education began at just six years old, when her mother took her along to Austin Community College classes to become a nurse.
Witnessing her mother face cultural backlash and criticism for getting an education while raising two kids made a lasting impression. Between the you’re not a good mother
comments, Afsaneh saw the importance of getting an education and the difficulties nontraditional students face which only incentivized her to help others follow their own dreams.
Seeing my mother’s journey definitely shaped my passion for education,
Masoumi said. She prioritized my brother and me while still following her dream. I have such high regard for her because she didn’t let any stigma or obstacles stop her.
Now a Texas Education Scholar, Masoumi is making the most of her time at UT by taking every opportunity that comes her way — including by traveling to India after being awarded the President’s Award for Global Learning (PAGL). Her research there, examining the community impact of a library previously built by UT students in a rural community, expands on her lifelong interest and current educational journey to better understand nontraditional education settings.
Finding Her Place at UT Austin
Following her mom’s advice to never limit herself, Masoumi secretly applied to her dream school — The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education — just in case she didn’t get in. Going to college was never a question in Masoumi’s family, rather an expectation, and UT was their Ivy League.
I come from an immigrant background, and the dream was always for me to go to college,
Masoumi said. I didn’t know what schools were the best, but I knew about UT, so I wanted to go there.
Before she submitted her application, Masoumi thought back to a high school tournament she played in on the Forty Acres. Though her team lost, she explored the campus while the competition wrapped up where she stumbled on a bench between the William C. Powers, Jr. (WCP) Student Activity Center and Gregory Gym.
For the first time I could see myself as a part of campus,
Masoumi said. That bench motivated me to apply because it felt perfect for me. I felt like I belonged here.
Shaping her Path in the Youth and Community Studies Program
At UT Austin’s College of Education, Masoumi followed her lifelong dream to becoming an educator and landed in the Youth and Communication Studies (YCS) Urban Teachers program. She was immediately drawn to its emphasis on Title 1 urban schools and opportunities to interact with students outside of traditional classroom settings.
The YCS program is so unique,
Masoumi said. It allowed for more hands-on opportunities to work with diverse communities and I apply what I am learning into practice. I didn’t know how big these values were at COE until I was in the college, but I would only have applied sooner if I’d known earlier.
During her time at COE, Masoumi became more interested in the broad factors that can affect access to education through classes such as Sociocultural Influences in Learning – a subject that would soon take her across the world.
Exploring Global Education in India
This summer, she studied abroad through the President’s Award for Global Learning program – something she had aspired to do since finding out about the program her freshman year.
After two unsuccessful applications, Masoumi found her opportunity through a team of STEM students by pitching the value of her education perspective. The interdisciplinary team’s proposal to explore the community impacts of a library built in rural India by previous UT students was accepted.
We went in thinking the library might have impacted education, but it did so much more,
Masoumi said. It became a symbol of hope and made going to college the norm. Unfortunately, a lot of the elders and adults in the community felt their social standing could limit aspiring students from being hired despite a degree. However, many students had gone on hunger strikes to show the importance of getting an education.
While her three colleagues, whose fields of expertise included physics, biology and engineering, focused on data gathering and analysis, Masoumi became the community liaison, applying the lessons from her coursework to connect with the young library visitors.
Though I don’t speak their language, I was already playing badminton with the kids on the first day,
Masoumi said. We didn’t need to speak the same language to know what we were saying or to get along. I would observe how the kids interacted with one another and would do the same thing. They would watch me at first, then I would smile so they felt comfortable enough to come over.
The team’s findings revealed how younger children were pushing back against gender limitations for young women and how community projects such as the library require long-term follow up. Now, the group is creating a report on the full extent of their findings for Texas Global.
My biggest takeaway was realizing how much I can apply what I learned at COE and experience education outside of a U.S. context,
Masoumi said. It helped me understand the importance of nontraditional educational settings and many ways learning happens outside the classroom.
The library, she added, had become not only a place for study but a place students felt comfortable to build community and play games.
Looking Ahead
Now, whether she goes into the classroom or returns for a graduate degree, this experience helped her find her passion for exploring sociocultural limitations and how they influence policies.
Reflecting on her time at COE, Masoumi sits on her bench as she relishes the memories and experiences throughout the last four years. Her biggest takeaways are becoming a COE career peer mentor, her comparative study abroad experience in the United Kingdom, the community she built through the Texas Education Scholars and the opportunity the College of Education and UT Austin provided to help her understand other issues that impact education.
I have learned so much at UT and I have been able to do things that I wouldn’t have expected myself to do,
Masoumi said. Stepping outside of my comfort zone made me uncomfortable in the best way possible and I am excited for what comes next.
