By Leah Johnston

When she landed in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 2021, all Rukhsar Balkhi had was a small assortment of clothing, her passport, and an emerald ring from her mother. She brought something of more value to the United States, though: her unwavering dedication to academics.

Balkhi’s drive and perseverance molded her positive mindset—inspiring a future she never imagined before fleeing her home in Kabul, Afghanistan.

On August 15, 2021, Balkhi’s life in Afghanistan collapsed. With the return of the Taliban following the withdrawal of United States troops, the 21-year-old administrative assistant at the United States Embassy quickly realized that not only would she be barred from studying and working, but she would also be persecuted for her involvement with the U.S. embassy. 

With this epiphany came a fear Balkhi said was “the worst feeling that one could have.” Whenever someone knocked on the door of the apartment she shared with her cousin and aunt, she immediately assumed that the Taliban had come for her. She didn’t sleep for over ten days. In the “very chaotic time” between the Taliban’s invasion and her evacuation, Balkhi’s days were riddled with worry and apprehension.

Rukhsar Balki continues to advocate for peace. Photo credit: youthindiplomacy.org.

With her priorities, staying in Afghanistan wasn’t an option. Balkhi, who was born in the progressive city of Mazar to an open-minded family, always loved to learn. From an early age, she took pleasure in reading, taking walks, and conversing with her family. Even now, she prefers to skip parties in order to go to the library with her friends. This work ethic had led her to her job in the U.S. embassy, which ended up endangering her, but it also provided her an opportunity to escape when so many others could not. “The only hope for me,” she said, was that “they would not leave us.”

Balkhi arrived in the United States alone but soon reunited with her sister at her home in Bristol, Virginia before transferring to Bard College in upstate New York. She noted that due to all the exposure she had to Western literature and the occasional Western movie, she didn’t experience much culture shock in America. She also noted that having interactions with foreigners at the embassy in Kabul helped prepare her for her new home. Moving halfway across the world didn’t hinder Balkhi’s education: instead, her circumstances motivated her to help other people in Afghanistan, particularly women. “I don’t want to just be a victim, but someone who can change things.”

After finishing her undergraduate degree in macroeconomics and human rights, Balkhi moved down the Hudson to New York City to continue her studies at Columbia University. However, a year into her master’s degree in Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, she took a leave of absence after having received an offer to study at Oxford University, where she earned her master’s in Science and Modern South Asian Studies. By the summer of 2026, she will have completed two master’s degrees in just three years. 

Balkhi hopes her education will open doors to working with the United Nations and creating initiatives of her own to help others. “Even changing one life would make a big difference,” she said, because “that person tomorrow could be a big, influential leader, and they could change 1000 lives.”

This career trajectory was not what Balkhi had pursued in Afghanistan, where she was “not really into politics” and “not into advocacy at all.” Everything she has accomplished so far has not been easy by any standard. Balkhi acknowledged that when she is overwhelmed by negativity in the news, she resets by reading books by Neville Goddard and Napoleon Hill or listening to podcasts by Dr. Joe Dispenza. She sticks to her goals through discipline as well as mindset.

Although her life has “changed drastically” over the last five years, she said she is the same person at a core level. She still hopes to work for her country some day and remains a lifelong learner. She is at peace with her unexpected journey: “Everything happened the way it should have happened.” Balkhi expressed a fondness for her “motherland” and her childhood there, but now has found comfort in America. “I see my future in the U.S.”

Editor’s Note: This article was originally written as part of the author’s participation in a summer program at The School of The New York Times.