As part of our ongoing series that highlights NHTI alumni, the following blog post is written by N.H. State Representative Safiya Wazir (District 17, Ward 8), who graduated from NHTI with her degree in Business Administration.
My journey has been a unique one, taking me from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan to Concord High School and now to serving as a legislator in the N.H. State House, but an important choice I made along the way was to attend NHTI after high school to get my college degree. Not every student is financially stable, and for me community college was definitely the best choice. It was so affordable, and I graduated with very little student loan debt that I was able to pay off without incurring mountains of interest.
NHTI was also close to home. I could commute, have night classes, and work during the day. As I got better jobs and promotions, I could work my class schedule around those changes. There were many options, and I did most courses on campus but some online, too. NHTI’s many schedules and formats meant I could work and raise a family and still get the courses I needed for my degree in Business Administration.
NHTI would offer transferability, and my plan has been to go on for my bachelor’s degree here in New Hampshire. I could take more courses at NHTI and finish my degree at a four-year school. That is my plan for the future.
I was excited to get involved on campus. I had an on-campus job in the Athletics office in the Wellness Center and worked in the library. I got to know many great people there. I really enjoyed the classes and professors, like recently retired Prof. Fred King in the Business program. I participated in the clubs and in the Multicultural Festival. I used the excellent tutoring services in the Learning Center, now called the Academic Center for Excellence. As an ESOL student, I wanted to be sure my work and grammar were well done. It was a great fit for me, coming out of Concord High School.
I chose NHTI because it was close to home and affordable, but I found more activities and opportunities there than I had expected. I would tell a prospective student that NHTI is a budget-friendly campus. The saying “You Belong Here” is really true. NHTI is what it advertises and more. What I learned in and out of my classes at NHTI I now use all the time as a state representative, reviewing budgets, reading and drafting legislation, thinking about policies, and working in committees. NHTI provided me with a great education!
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