Dua Saleem is our young and inspiring UGRAD alumna (Spring 2022). Her experience as a semester exchange student at the State University of New York, Plattsburgh, U.S. was phenomenal to say the least. When Dua took her first flight to the U.S., she had already decided that she would make the most out of her experience and would avail every opportunity to explore the great country.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is one of the things that makes the experience so valuable and Dua experienced the same. This journey taught her that she can live an independent life. UGRAD had a profound influence on her academic path as she learned to write research papers.

“I got the opportunity to meet a campus dietitian and learn from him about the different branches in the field of nutrition and how they plan the menu for the campus dining hall,” shared Dua. On one of her field trips for environment class, her class got the chance to meet the mayor of Plattsburgh who shared words of wisdom with them and tell them about how sewage water cleaning plants work. Being part of a club name Muslim Student Association, she got an opportunity to arrange a campus event for the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr and learned how things are planned on a big scale.

During the last week of her semester, she got another opportunity to volunteer for the American Red Cross for the event name “Sound the Alarm” which made her realize the need for smoke alarm awareness in Pakistan. For that reason, she has planned to start an awareness campaign about fire alarms in Pakistan.

Looking back at her time as an exchange student at SUNY, Plattsburgh, she couldn’t be more grateful for this unique opportunity to learn and grow in such a multicultural and stimulating environment. PUAN wishes Dua Saleem all the best in her future endeavors.