|
Ahror's Personal
Biography I was born in Toshkent, Uzbekistan, in
April 1973. I grew up on the outskirts of Toshkent City, in the
village of Zangiota, named after an ancient Muslim saint. My
parents were poor people. My dad worked as a truck driver for a
local factory initially, then moved on to be his own taxi cab
driver. My mother worked as a high school mathematics teacher
until she died from cancer in 1989. She was the only child in
her large family to have gone to college despite the oppressive
culture towards women's education at the time. My parents had
six daughters after me. I was the oldest child. My sisters are
all grown up by now, the youngest one having graduated from high
school this year in 2005. After going to elementary and middle
schools in Zangiota, my mom took me to a special high school for
talented young kids in Toshkent City so I could study math
thoroughly. I passed the entrance exams with high scores and
eventually became good at math (not that I am now though).
My mother died from cancer when I was just about to
graduate. It hit me hard seeing my mother helpless in the face
of a horrible disease, so I decided to be a doctor. I didn't
pass the exam to a medical school in Toshkent the first year,
so I had to prepare one more year, this time focusing on
Chemistry and Biology. Preparation was good and I passed the
exam next year. By this time the former Soviet Union had
broken up, and Uzbekistan gotten its independence from Russia. I
had been working at a butcher shop and learning how to survive
in a corrupted soviet society witnessing firsthand all the scams
at the store. I continued my studies at Toshkent State Medical
Institute and worked part time in one of the research labs
operating on rats most of the time. It was a good experience. In
the fourth year of my school, my dad got unjustly thrown into
prison where he was persecuted by communists for the crimes he
hadn't committed. (I will tell all about it
in my book). I had to take care of my sisters so I worked
extra hours at a main train station selling produce with my
classmates from youth. It wasn't easy studying full time and
then working two part time jobs after school hours. As if it
wasn't enough, I got hit by a signal rocket in my face while
attending a friend's wedding. It blew my face off and knocked me
unconscious. I found myself in a hospital when I regained my
senses. The injury was massive and there was no hope for my
recovery. A miracle had to happen to get me out of that hopeless
situation. After two years in local hospitals, two Americans
discovered me and helped me to come to United States to have
reconstructive surgeries in Seattle. I met many great people in
Seattle, most of whom were the members of the Seattle Toshkent
Sister City Association. They helped me with fundraisers to
cover hospital expenses and my doctors offered their services
free of charge (I will tell all about it in
my book). It was quite an ordeal in itself. I was able to
get started at Seattle Central Community College with the help
of my friends to continue my once interrupted education. After a
year and a half there, I transferred to the University of
Washington where I got accepted into their computer science and
engineering program. While at the UW I worked part time in the
Speech and Hearing
Sciences department as a technical support specialist. Then I applied to UCLA graduate school
after getting my BS degree in Computer Science from the UW. I
now study Biomedical Engineering at the UCLA and live in Los
Angeles going to the beaches every chance I get. If you'd like
to know more about my story, please consider buying my newly
published book. It is an extraordinary story of hope, goodwill,
and answered prayers. Go to
my book section |
