As a child, Nodira Makhmudova had little interest in becoming a doctor when she grew up—this despite the fact that both her parents were doctors. It was only after she emigrated to the U.S. from the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan that she changed her mind.
Just 16 when she first came here as an international student, she initially lived with a host family in Kansas and then moved to New York after six months. “My English wasn’t fluent and I felt very alone, with no real sense of how to get a job or where to go to school,” she recalls. “I lacked confidence and had trouble interacting with people.”
Rapid trajectory
Fast forward four years to 2009: Makhmudova has completed her first semester at BMCC with a 3.72 grade point average and a busy schedule of volunteer activities. Along with two BMCC classmates, she recently received the 2009 Peter Jennings Scholarship Laurel Award, which recognizes the achievements of outstanding CUNY students who have earned a General Equivalency Diploma through a special CUNY program.
Perhaps most significant, Makhmudova today has a clear vision of the next part of her life: graduation from BMCC, transfer to a pre-med program and then on to medical school.
“For some reason I didn’t want to be a doctor when I was still living in Uzbekistan, but that changed after I got here,” says Makhmudova. “My father, who was a cardiologist, had inspired me to study abroad. I came here soon after he died and in those early days realized how much I missed my family and home. That helped me begin to think about becoming a doctor myself.”
Having left Uzbekistan before completing high school, Makhmudova enrolled in a beginning-level GED class at BMCC’s Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development, then progressed to more advanced levels and entered the College Prep course in January 2008.
“It was a difficult period,” she says. “I was attending school and also earning a living as a baby sitter.” Somehow, she also found time to spend two hours a day studying in the campus library, using books borrowed from the Continuing Ed Center.
While Makhmudova says that receiving the Peter Jennings scholarship is “a great honor,” it also yields a practical benefit, freeing her from some of the pressure to spend precious study time earning money. “It will definitely help me improve academically,” she says.
Sharing what she has learned
Having benefited from her time as a GED student, Makhmudova is a frequent speaker in Continuing Ed, where she reflects on her own experience and encourages students to use the available resources to their fullest advantage. “For me, college isn’t nearly as difficult as it would have been if I’d never taken the GED program,” she says. “I’m much more comfortable—and much more confident.”
Makhmudova is also a volunteer at the Women’s Resource Center and a classroom assistant for students with disabilities. “I want my college life to be full of experiences as well as full of knowledge,” she says.
After graduating from BMCC next spring, Makhmudova plans to enroll in a pre-med program and then go on to medical school and a career as an OB-GYN physician.
“I know I have a long way to go,” she says. “But I also know I’m on the right track.”
