ALUMNI
Sabira Ebaady, 2011 College’s first student from Afghanistan graduates and becomes researcher She hopes to eventually become a physician. BY JASON BRONSON
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t’s been nearly four years since Sabira Ebaady left her native Afghanistan for Mississippi. She arrived in late summer 2007, just in time for the beginning of the fall semester at Millsaps College in Jackson. She graduated from Millsaps in May with a major in biology and a minor in psychology. Ebaady's graduation is just one step toward her goal of going to medical school and becoming a physician. But it is a significant step, if a short one…right down the street, in fact. “My short-term plan for the year after graduation is doing an internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center across the road from Millsaps,” Ebaady said. “It is going to be a
huge experience working as a research assistant with Dr. John Hall, chair and associate vice chancellor for research at the physiology department.” While the internship is a promising development for her future aspirations, Ebaady still faces challenges—including getting into and paying for medical school. “For now, there is a question of whether or not I will be able to attend medical school here and actually become a physician in the future,” Sabira says. Because she is in this country on a visa, Ebaady said, “I am not eligible to apply to state medical schools, but of course there are private and osteopathic medical schools that do not require residency. Unfortunately, they are financially im-
Millsaps Magazine | Summer 2011
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