First graduate of AUCA’s MA in Central Asian Studies

July 7, 2015

Ali Reza Yasa, of the 2014-2015 class, is the first graduate from the Master of Arts in Central Asian Studies (MACAS) program at AUCA’s Central Asian Studies Institute. Originally from Afghanistan, Yasa received his combined Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from American University of Afghanistan and Kateb University. He spoke to AUCA News about his difficult path to success.

“During the first half of my life, my family lived as refugees in Iran and Pakistan. We faced many challenges, and financial hardship was only one of them. I was responsible for supporting my family from a young age, and the education of my younger siblings was always a greater priority than my own. Coming to the American University of Central Asia to pursue my Master’s in Central Asian Studies was the first time that my education took precedence over supporting my family and running the large private English language institute that I founded as a teenager. Leaving my business responsibilities was a difficult decision and one of the reasons that I missed my first semester at AUCA. The luxury of being able to focus 100% on my studies was as shocking as coming to a country where tradition and modernism converge and being able to study in classrooms with Muslims, Christians, Jews, and even Atheists. This blend of students who followed several religions and came from several different parts of the world created an inspiring atmosphere that promoted mutual understanding, tolerance, and diversity.

Pursuing Central Asian Studies in Central Asia gave me the privilege of befriending many people from the local Kyrgyz population and from other neighboring countries within Central Asia. The lessons one can learn when immersing oneself in a local culture are invaluable and helped deepen my understanding of many issues taught in the classroom. My home country of Afghanistan shares a long border with Central Asia and I was often reminded of the fluidity and overlapping of our history, values, and customs as I discovered commonalities in our language, food, and cultural practices. This was one of the things that inspired me to organize an Afghan lunch for the MACAS program in celebration of International Women’s Day in 2014 and another Afghan lunch in May 2015 to honor and thank Professor Emil Nasritdinov.

My interest in Central Asian Studies was accompanied by the intention to delve deeper into the annals of history, but my interest and concentration quickly shifted to Anthropology. My passion for anthropology and ethnographic research and the topic of my MA thesis were born in Professor Emil Nasritdinov’s class: Identities in the Making: Religion, Mobility, and Globalization in Central Asia. Studying in an interdisciplinary program with the benefit of exploring an area through the lenses of different disciplines; like International Relations, Political Science, History, Anthropology, and Sociology; helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses and explore the areas that were of deepest interest to me. As a result, I am more confident, less worried, more focused and I know the path I want to pursue in PhD studies. Such a huge achievement in the course of just 1 1/2 years was a great step in my journey towards my better self which would not have been possible without the tremendous care, attention, and encouragement of my professors and classmates.

The expertise of my professors at AUCA, the friendly atmosphere, the class discussions, diversity week, and even the assistance of the visa coordinators helped make my experience at AUCA an unforgettable chapter in my life. Despite the heavy load of assignments and readings required by the Master's in Central Asian Studies, my great Anthropology and Sociology professors helped make the challenge not only highly rewarding but also stimulating and enjoyable. I’m proud to call myself an AUCA alumnus and even more proud to be the first graduate of the Master’s in Central Asian Studies program at AUCA.”

For more information on the Master of Arts in Central Asian Studies program, please visit the MACAS and Central Asian Studies Institute web pages.

<< go to news list