First Person

First Person: Indo-Pak Gender Session – Changing Perceptions & Stereotypes

PUAN EDITOR

January 21, 2015

6 min read

First Person: Indo-Pak Gender Session – Changing Perceptions & Stereotypes

By Rimsha Ali Shah–Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) Alumna Pakistan and India share a similar socio-economic and cultural context when it comes to the sexes and society. As a woman, time and again I have strongly felt that we need to engage our male counterparts to sensitize and ...

First Person

First Person: Learning, Fun and Exposure SUSI 2014

Puan Editor

September 12, 2014

8 min read

First Person: Learning, Fun and Exposure SUSI 2014

By Maham Zahid, Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) Alumna I am a strong believer that “you can go as far as you dream, think and imagine.” My dreams came true when I was selected as a principal candidate for SUSI 2014. The first four weeks of the 6-week ...

First Person

First Person: English Language Study Transformed Me

PUAN EDITOR

July 18, 2014

9 min read

First Person: English Language Study Transformed Me

By Haris, English Access Program Alumnus from Karachi This is Haris, an English Access Karachi Alumnus of the 2010-2012 program. I live in an area of Karachi where there is a lot of waste of precious human resources. A number of my childhood friends are doing time in prison while ...

First Person

First Person: Kumail the Community Leader

PUAN EDITOR

July 14, 2014

8 min read

First Person: Kumail the Community Leader

By Kumail, English Access Program Alumnus from Karachi Today I am going to let you know why I am known as a social worker in my locality. In fact, most people from outside my area are surprised to hear that a student is a volunteer and the people of my ...

First Person Regional Cooperation

First Person: Women’s Tech Forum Central Asia

Puan Editor

July 3, 2014

5 min read

First Person: Women’s Tech Forum Central Asia

By Rimsha Ali Shah, SUSI alumna Quite recently I had the pleasure of attending Tech Forum Central Asia (TFCA 14) in Almaty, Kazakhstan as a participant from Pakistan along with Zoe Richards from Lahore. My first travel to a central Asian state was quite riveting and enlightening in different ways. ...

First Person

First Person: My U.S. Exchange Experience

PUAN EDITOR

June 5, 2014

7 min read

First Person: My U.S. Exchange Experience

By Moiz Rehan, 2012 Youth Exchange & Study (YES) alumnus Reprinted with permission from Khabr-o-Nazar magazine, April-May 2014 issue My name is Moiz Rehan and I went to the U.S. under the KL-YES Program in the year 2012. I remember the day that my journey of change started – the ...

First Person

First Person: Pakistani Alumni Shine at Delhi Social Media Summit

Puan Editor

May 31, 2014

5 min read

First Person: Pakistani Alumni Shine at Delhi Social Media Summit

By Sher Bano, Youth Exchange & Study (YES) alumna Reprinted with permission from Khabr-o-Nazar Magazine, March-April 2014 issue. Last fall, I along with Abdullah Dayo (IVLP alumnus) and Umair Aziz (Professional Journalists Exchange Program alumnus), got the opportunity to visit India for the “South Asia Summit on Social Media for ...

First Person

First Person: Helping Drought-Hit Victims in Thar

Puan Editor

May 14, 2014

4 min read

First Person: Helping Drought-Hit Victims in Thar

By Raj Kumar Raj Kumar is a Spring 2013 Global UGrad alumnus, Youth Group Director for the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network’s Islamabad Chapter; and a member of the U.S. Ambassador’s Youth Council. My friends and I decided to help the drought-affected people of Thar, after witnessing their miserable state. We started ...

First Person

First Person: New York, City of Lights

PUAN EDITOR

April 30, 2014

8 min read

By Ruby Gul Shah Alumna of 2013 “Art for Social Change” exchange program The city of lights, New York! Although I was never fascinated by the artificial brilliance of busy cities but I found New York to be one of a kind. No wonder, an old blind and deaf lady ...

First Person

First Person: Literature Transcends Borders in International Writing Program

PUAN EDITOR

February 4, 2014

8 min read

First Person: Literature Transcends Borders in International Writing Program

By Shandana Minhas, Special to the PUAN News Blog The International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa is often described as a “United Nations” of writers. I’d agree with this, not least because in our time together we managed to pass several resolutions and had little impact on ...