{"id":88,"date":"2015-10-19T14:38:37","date_gmt":"2015-10-19T14:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/?p=88"},"modified":"2015-12-06T16:57:28","modified_gmt":"2015-12-06T16:57:28","slug":"from-afghanistan-to-the-grove-how-a-little-piece-of-shrapnel-changed-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/2015\/10\/19\/from-afghanistan-to-the-grove-how-a-little-piece-of-shrapnel-changed-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"From Afghanistan to the Grove: How a Little Piece of Shrapnel Changed Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Every year, Grove City students travel abroad to study in Europe, Asia or South America, but who are the people who make Grove City their destination? In this series, we\u2019ll introduce you to GCC\u2019s international students and their amazing stories. <\/em><\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you didn\u2019t know Najib Afghan well, you\u2019d think him just like any other Grove City student. He dresses well, studies hard and participates in lots of extra-curricular activities. However, Najib\u2019s story is anything but mundane\u2014in fact, it\u2019s an exceptional example of how God works through the worst circumstances to bestow the greatest blessings.<\/p>\n<p>Born and raised in the Helmand province of war-torn Afghanistan, Najib is the son of illiterate parents. When he was fifteen, he and his younger brother Hamid were cycling down the streets of their hometown of Lashkar Gah, when a rocket hit the road. The shrapnel killed Hamid instantly, while Najib sustained severe damage to his left eye. A British journalist named Jerome Starkey saw the explosion and came to Najib\u2019s aid, beginning a lifelong friendship that would open up worlds of opportunity for the Afghani youth.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/3861730536_50954afc95_o.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-89 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/3861730536_50954afc95_o-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"3861730536_50954afc95_o\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Starkey worked with Najib to locate a surgeon who could remove the 2mm piece of metal that was lodged in the boy\u2019s eye. However, no one in Afghanistan was able to do so. After two weeks, sponsored by an American charity, Najib found himself <em>en route<\/em> to North Carolina. There, a skilled ophthalmologist named Dr. Nasrollah Samiy successfully removed the shrapnel, although Najib sadly remains blind in that eye.<\/p>\n<p>Najib recollects his first feelings about the United States. \u201cDuring my first visit to America to Charlotte, NC in 2009 I was amazed how modern this country was and\u00a0I was inspired by the US colleges and the standard of education in this country. So ever since was looking for ways to come US again to get a degree, a medical degree is what I wanted to do then. Luckily, about two years later, in 2011 I was offered three years full scholarship at Stowe one of the top private boarding school in England.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While studying at Stowe, Najib met GCC economics professor Dr. Mark Hendrickson, who was visiting the boarding school. \u201cI was looking for US colleges with a rigorous academic environment that challenged me but also place I could get academic and financial support,\u201d Najib recollects. After talking with Dr. Hendrickson, the Afghani student researched Grove City College and found that it had \u201cgreat academic excellence\u201d and a \u201cvery supportive community.\u201d So, he applied, and was accepted. Currently studying accounting, Najib is thriving and enjoying his professors and classes. Looking toward the future, he hopes to be an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/Grove-City-College-enterance.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-90 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/Grove-City-College-enterance-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Grove City College enterance\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite being a devout Muslim, Najib appreciates Grove City\u2019s Christian environment. He even likes the shoe-in-the-door rule and the campus drinking policy. \u201cYou cannot find any more responsible, safer, nicer, and supportive college with rigorous academics than Grove City College,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>However, Najib has still found the adjustment somewhat hard. \u201cIt has been difficult to make a friend here that do not want convert you,\u201d he reflects. \u201cI have my own faith and I feel strongly about it.\u201d Even still, he believes that Christianity and Islam have a lot in common, citing the prophets that both faiths share, devotion to one God and doing good deeds. \u201cAs the only Afghan and Muslim up until last semester, I hope I have played my part to break down any barrier that might exist between us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/With-friends-at-North-Hall-Hospitality-party.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-91 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/With-friends-at-North-Hall-Hospitality-party-300x215.jpg\" alt=\"With friends at North Hall Hospitality party\" width=\"300\" height=\"215\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>When asked to name his favorite American food, Najib answers: \u201cMacaroni and cheese. I love them. Great source of carbs for Ultra-marathon training which I did 38 mil on August in Pittsfield, MA to raise fund for FreeToRun charity.\u201d Is there anything this guy doesn\u2019t do?<\/p>\n<p>Keep up the good work, Najib. We\u2019re so glad you chose Grove City College.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, Grove City students travel abroad to study in Europe, Asia or South America, but who are the people who make Grove City their destination? In this series, we\u2019ll introduce you to GCC\u2019s international students and their amazing stories. \u00a0 If you didn\u2019t know Najib Afghan well, you\u2019d think him just like any other Grove City student. He dresses [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,8,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-experiences","category-international-students","category-student-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>From Afghanistan to the Grove: How a Little Piece of Shrapnel Changed Everything -<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.gcc.edu\/insider\/2015\/10\/19\/from-afghanistan-to-the-grove-how-a-little-piece-of-shrapnel-changed-everything\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Afghanistan to the Grove: How a Little Piece of Shrapnel Changed Everything -\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every year, Grove City students travel abroad to study in Europe, Asia or South America, but who are the people who make Grove City their destination? 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