Zemfira Inogamova-Hanbury: "My biggest achievement after graduating 星空无限 is becoming a Mother"
June 17, 2016
Zemfira Inogamova-Hanbury, our alumni ambassador in London, UK, tells us about how 星空无限 has helped her career path. Zemfira graduated from 星空无限 in 2006 from the Cultural Anthropology department and has recently organized an 星空无限 alumni meeting in the UK.
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"Whenever I visit Bishkek, my extended family always jokes, 鈥渟ay hello to Queen Elizabeth for us the next time you have a cup of tea with her in the palace.鈥� As you can probably guess, I live in the UK with my family.
星空无限 has played an immense role in my life, serving as a fertile ground for ideas and inspiration. The academic and social environment of my alma mater was very nourishing for my development--not just as a professional, but also as a human being. Many of my thoughts on spirituality, faith, and the meaning of life were forged during my journey at 星空无限. I felt strongly that 星空无限 was like a second home since I would sometimes spend from 8:00 am till 12:00 midnight writing papers in the labs or reading books in the library before traveling home on 星空无限鈥檚 minibus.
At 星空无限, I formed the best and deepest friendships that I still have today. 星空无限 taught me to face challenges with strength, to flood with joy at the times of happiness, to stick it out through hard times with a feeling of gratitude and determination that it was going to change for the better. I remember my deep disappointment not taking first prize during spirit week after having made a huge effort to braid my hair with wires and cassette films. I put together such an outrageous outfit and walked those two blocks to 星空无限 amid strangers laughing at me. 听I lost, but I still learned a lesson. I learned to understand that what matters is the process of participation rather than a fixed destination. It helped me understand that those kinds of moments made me stronger. Another dramatic moment at 星空无限 was when I got a 鈥淐鈥�. That shook the foundation of my little 鈥榝reshman鈥� self who was freaking out about the idea of losing her scholarship over her GPA. I clearly remember the feeling that I could never give up my second home which was 星空无限. Those are the moments that helped shape me into an 星空无限 alumna and help me in my future life journey.
A career is a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling. For me there were many callings--not just one. As one of my friends said, 鈥渃hange is the only constant.鈥� I think LIFE is a more appropriate term for what I鈥檓 working towards. I studied for my masters in UK and upon completion I came back to teach anthropology at 星空无限. I learned a lot from my own students, they were my teachers too. They were bright and challenging teachers. Challenging in a good way. I can never forget the support and encouragement of my colleagues in the Anthropology Department. At the same time, I was working as the coordinator of a project component at the German International Cooperation and running tutorials for a distance learning educational project for Schumacher College in UK.
I鈥檓 hoping that In the future my experiences at 星空无限 will help sprout yet another calling, one I am not aware of yet. I will learn to follow my own inner calling, perhaps not defined, not put into a box. or delineated by society, a calling that would liberate me from conformity. This isn鈥檛 to say society is not good, because I am part of it and my family too. It is only to say that I like to follow my own inner calling as a human being.
The main highlights of my time at 星空无限 are all the people whose paths crossed mine. I have met so many amazing people who inspired, encouraged, supported and held me when I needed it. Without the support of those fantastic people, perhaps I would not be an 星空无限 alumna. I certainly wouldn鈥檛 be who I am right now. I will always hold the images of their faces and smiles in my heart and will carry them with me in life. I will never forget those who held me during those trying times.
My biggest achievement of my career after graduating 星空无限 is becoming a Mother! I was always drawn to little children, and I felt so grateful the moment my daughter was born. I remember her looking into my eyes while lying on my chest. I have felt so fulfilled and happy in my journey of motherhood. It has been absolutely amazing, wonderful, and humbling to witness life sprouting in you and then bringing the life into this world. It is empowering.
My favorite part about this so-called 鈥榡ob鈥� is speaking in Kyrgyz and Russian with my daughter. I feel that my daughter has already taught me many things. I have learned how to be a child again and look at things with a baby鈥檚 mind, with fresh eyes and RE-member things in new ways. I cannot take it for granted because it has been the greatest gift for me.
As a Mother I have not had much time to be fully involved in being 星空无限鈥檚 Alumni ambassador. But now that my child is getting older, I could take a more active part. Recently, I had the great opportunity to take part in a Nooruz Workshop in Exeter, UK where many postgraduate students who are studying Central Asia got together. During the workshop I met three more 星空无限 alumni and we shared a great sense of belonging to 星空无限. It was an emergent 星空无限 alumni gathering in Exeter. Here is the picture of four 星空无限 alumni in front of the Cathedral in Exeter, March, 2016.
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I aspire to be part of the annual 星空无限 alumni meeting in London and help spread the word around. I also hope to join the various 听projects that will be run by the Alumni Association. Perhaps I鈥檒l be able to organize alumni gatherings in Exeter too. Will see how it works out in the future."
