About a year ago I was selected in this program called Hansen Summer Institute. I had no clue of what to look forward to but the apprehension of being one of the lucky few who actually got selected was tempting and the idea of going to Southern California was superb. Now I had no clue where San Diego was(ahem ahem) because I had heard of L.A and had cousins living in Orange County but had no clue that San Diego existed. I first thought that it was a small town in California but then whenever i used to ask anyone who had visited California, they were like its a beautiful place.
It was June 29th, 2008 when I took my flight from Peshawar to Doha where I was to meet up with two other Hansen fellows from Pakistan, Hira and Anam, from where we had to take our flight together to Washington D.C. I had never met them before and had only talked to them three four times prior to our first encounter. All three of us had no clue of what to look forward to but our excitement level was sky high. Our Flight together to D.C was an experience I would never forget and would require another blog but to put it short it was surely the best flight of my life.
When we reached San Diego we were greeted by the Prof.Ron, Chuck and a Hansen fellow from 2007 who were holding placards with our names on them. That was sign of relief because after traveling 22 hours of air travel and having no clue of what was about to happen to us, seeing that someone is there to receive us was the best feeling ever. Atlas in safe hands!!! =)
Now if I go into details of every second of my trip, it would take ages before I get done and the ride down the memory lane would make me miss all my friends so much that its best I stick to things that’ll help the new Hansen fellows in getting a fair idea of what to look forward to.
Its a very intense program....That's what one of the Hansen Fellows from 2007 told me...i didn't know what he meant by that until i experienced it myself....It's more of a journey to self discover your own potential, your limitations, your leadership skills. The idea of meeting people from all over the globe was quite exciting but scary at the same time because you have no clue what they will like dislike...but i think we clicked the moment we met each other....everyone was so friendly and we figured out that we are more common then we could even imagine...actually the program is designed in such a manner that it allows you to have maximum interaction with other Hansen Fellows.
Oh and you have to speak a lot during the program...So in case you have some public speaking fear, you'll be so over it by the time the program ends. You would be able to grow as a person and develop skills that'll help you a lot in future. What is needed is that you should respect other view points and be open to positive change. Only then would you see the pure essence of this program.
Try to have as much interaction as you can with the other fellows during these three weeks...I think me and a couple of my friends used to sleep real late so that we don't miss out on anything while we are sleeping. So instead of going to bed at 10, stay up and enjoy with your friends. Most of our discussions were at the pool side late at night. I remember at first only two three of us used to sit there and talk but then the numbers grew and near the end almost everyone was at the pool at night.
Oh and don't give your Program Coordinator Bonnie lamb a hard time because she's like a mother to us. So in case you do bug her, expect any of the old Hansen Fellows to drop by any second and teach you guys a few manners haha I know most of us hated the 10.30 curfew time but i guess it was for our own betterment. They too have a responsibility and we should help them out and act nice rather then give them a tough time. In our time everyone complied with the cerfew timings because when didn't, Bonnie lamb was not the person you wanted to meet up with when you returned. She gets that scary haha :)
Oh and Graduate Assisstant is my friend Max this time from Russia....He's a very sweet soul...One of the most decent persons i ever got to meet....and the Intern Annnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaa......well she's a sweetheart!!! I think some of these Hansen friends are more close to me then my friends back home. And whenever we get the chance to talk (which we do almost every other day), we never run out of stuff to talk about.
That's about it for now...if anyone of you as any queries about the program or any other thing, don't just bug ma'am all the time with your mails haha you can always mail Anna or you can mail me at qazisahib@gmail.com. I'd be more then glad to help you guys out in anyway i can.
Best,
Haseeb Qazi, =)
Hansen Fellow '08
