Why are you retiring?

“I would love to teach for two more years, but I need to go home to take care of my mom. It was a very hard decision to decide to retire and to be honest, I don’t have a clear answer as to why I want to retire. I just know that now is the right time.”

What are you going to miss most about teaching at LSW?

“Math is my love. I will miss teaching math the most. I’ll also miss my colleagues. In our math department, we are very close. They’re always so helpful. Retirement will be a humongous change. I don’t know right now if I’m going to regret my decision or if it’s going to be one of the best decisions of my life. It’s like I’m walking into a blank wall and I just have to see what the future brings.”

What plans do you have for the future and why?

“I plan to spend more time with my husband and children. We’re going to travel worldwide because we want to visit our relatives and old friends. I’m originally from Afghanistan and since our people have been going through war for the past 40 years, many of our friends and family have been refugeed across the world. I love to visit my friends because we’re so close that they are my second family. I’d also like to visit places like Egypt, basically historical places. In general, I love traveling. I’ve traveled all of my life.”

Why do you love math?

“In every school I went to, I always knew more math than my teachers. Somehow anything they taught came easy to me. I’ve always been very talented in math, so my goal was to become a math teacher at my old high school in Afghanistan, but that didn’t happen. Russia invaded my country and as a result I became a refugee. All of the math I know came from my teachers in my home country. Being able to share my knowledge from Afghanistan is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences there is. I’m able to teach my students the old shortcuts I’ve learned back home 30 to 40 years ago. I also love teaching math because I know I’m really helping these kids. Sometimes I’ll receive a letter or an email from an old student where they reveal how positively they think of me. I’ve also always wanted to be a math teacher since middle school and I’ve finally accomplished it.”