A Bronx teacher's path to success after facing hardships
The new year is often seen as an opportunity to leave the past behind and start anew. As we move further into 2024, WNYC's Community Partnerships Desk is highlighting stories in our communities that focus on the idea of fresh starts. Marowa is a high school teacher in the Bronx who, among challenges and navigating the foster care system, discovered a path to a career in education.
The transcript of Marowa's story has been lightly edited for clarity.
My name is Marowa. I'm 24 years old. I'm currently a high school teacher at Dream Charter High School. Originally, I'm from Bangladesh. In 2008, I relocated to the United States with my biological family. When I came to New York, I was in the third grade, and I didn't speak a word of English. So I had two ESL teachers that made a huge difference in my life. Over the course of approximately five years, I dedicated myself to acquiring proficiency in the English language ultimately Influencing my decision to pursue as my major in college.
I was bullied a lot growing up. I didn't have the best childhood, didn't have the best home, and didn't have the best mentorship for most of my life. It was just kind of like hell. When I was 16, I made a bold move to run away from home because it wasn't a safe place for me. I think every year I was either growing or falling because not every year was successful for me. I was homeless twice, and just to make it out of there was really, really, really difficult for me.
Where I really found my solace was when I started looking into my faith a little more. I looked into Islam, and that really was just like a life changer for me. My academic journey was also very, very resourceful for me. Being able to graduate. It's really just almost surreal for me, and it's been really great to become a teacher, to be able to lead a large group of students who are figuring themselves out who may be in the same situation that I was in. Just to see my reflection upon them it helps me grow too as a person.
I learn a lot from them, just as much as they do. I've always tried to reflect back into my past. And it really humbles me even with my own journey from being where I was to where I am now. You know, it's definitely a fresh start.