Testimonials
" I want to commence my message by thanking the Amin Arasteh Foundation and its donors for supporting Iranian students, particularly in these hard times. I am a third-year Ph.D. student in the Moving Image Studies Program at Georgia State University (GSU). Also, I have recently received the Graduate Certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) from GSU. I received my Masters of Art in Cinema/Film Studies from the University of Tehran. My research interests in GSU focus on Iranian Cinema, Feminism and Queer Theory, Visual Culture Studies, Film Aesthetics and Narrative, and Diaspora and Exile Film. I am currently doing research on Iranian women filmmakers, representation of women in Iranian Cinema, and gender and sexuality in Iranian Cinema. Structural disempowerment of arts and cultural studies under the auspices of the Islamic Republic is an infamous fact. In addition, arts and social sciences in America, particularly culture and media studies, suffer from insufficient funding, which is exacerbated under the Trump administration. Therefore, any support of the Iranian students who are celebrating the globally revered Iranian art and culture in American universities, either through the practice of art or through their theoretical analyses of the topics, is a donation well made and a capital well invested. As a major part of my funding as a Ph.D. student at GSU, I am required to teach each semester. The Amin Arasteh foundation's scholarship empowered me to negotiate the courses that I was assigned to teach during the Fall 2019 semester. As a result, I was able to convince the School of Film, Media, and Theatre in GSU to give me the chance of teaching a Senior Seminar in Iranian Cinema for the undergraduate film students in GSU which, according to the associate director of the school, was offered for the first time in a century-long history of GSU. In the end, I want to thank you once more for your generous support of the students who will form the future professionals of the Iranian-American community. "
"I am Zahra A., a Ph.D. student in Chemical & Materials Engineering at New Mexico State University (NMSU). I moved to the US with my husband and 7-year old daughter. I have been receiving the Amin Arasteh Foundation support since 2019. The Amin Arasteh Foundation scholarship has helped me tremendously; the funding allows me to concentrate on my studies. Since 2019, I have been able to make significant progress on my research and prepare three journal articles that are ready for submission. Spending time on my courses efficiently on my courses without any financial concerns led me to a 4.0 GPA. Being more efficient in my studies and research has made me even a more capable mom at home. Without all of your continued support I just could not have made these achievements happen. I greatly appreciate Amin Arasteh Foundation and all donors’ support."
In a recent conversation with Mohadeseh, she first and foremost expressed her extreme gratitude to Arasteh-Amin Foundation sharing that it is her scholarship which is covering her living expenses and allowing her to stay in the U.S. With no other source of funding, and the plummeting value of the currency in Iran; Mohadeseh faced the likelihood that she would have to return to Iran without being able to complete her mission in obtaining her PhD in Applied Linguistics. Mohadesh, a graduate student of Ferdosi University in Mashad was given a grant as a top student in 2017 with a GPA of 19.5 of possible 20 to travel abroad to the U.S. to further research her dissertation on Education/Technology (developing a software to teach English as a second language to undergrad students). She first arrived in Virginia where she worked several months as a visiting scholar under her professor. After a few months, her professor was given an opportunity to relocate to a university in Minnesota; it was at this time that she realized it was not practical to follow her professor there and began a quest to locate another university that would allow her to complete her mission and was accepted at U.C. Santa Cruz. Upon relocation Mohadesh has continued to work diligently and is making great progress despite the extreme financial burden, at one time so heavy she could not afford health insurance. "In the situation of chaos and hopelessness I found the Amin Arasteh Foundation which has really changed my situation. This has been my sole source of covering my living expenses at this time. When we are provided the facilities provided to us here and abroad; we can show our capability. I will be forever grateful for your assistance and cannot express what a difference you have made in my life."
"My research interest is the confluence of neuroscience and artificial intelligence. As a member of the Biomedical Imaging and Data Science Laboratory, we are working on the early detection of Alzheimer's Disease. Using a blend of data, including brain images and genomics, we are trying to model the progression and detect the hallmarks of the disease. As part of this lab, I am leading the human study project. Using the data I have collected, I am developing artificial intelligence algorithms to predict the sleep stages using the heart rate activity of individuals rather than depending on expensive lab studies. We know sleep dysregulation is a feature of dementia and is associated with the onset of it. Our hope is to better predict the patient's susceptibility to Alzheimer's using our study's results. Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the mysteries of the human brain. The assistance from the Amin Arasteh Foundation has allowed me to pursue my dreams without a financial burden. Your support has granted me the ability to solely focus on my studies which will, hopefully, help everyone."
"I received my M.S. degree in industrial engineering from West Virginia University. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in computer science with the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. I am also working on science with the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. I am also working on using machine learning algorithms in specific domains, such as advanced manufacturing in mechanical engineering. My research interests include the intersection of statistics, optimization, and machine learning. First of all, I would like to thank the donors who have made it possible for the Amin Arasteh Foundation to provide scholarships and grants to me and to future students such as me. Finding a network of people who can provide guidance and assistance is critical for achieving my goals. Doing hard work in isolation is incredibly difficult, and accomplishing daunting tasks will inevitably require a good deal of hard work. The bigger my goals, the more social support I will ultimately need to be successful. The assistance from Amin Arasteh foundation has impacted and helped me in achieving my goals. It allowed me to pay my debts and gave me some peace of mind as I complete my studies. I hope I will graduate in the near future and donate to Amin Arasteh Foundation and similar foundations to support future students."
"I am a theatre and performance graduate student based in NYC, currently working on my master of arts in University at Buffalo. I hold an MA in performance studies from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and a MSc in mechanical engineering from University at Buffalo. I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for your generosity in supporting my academic journey. I am working on my thesis in order to obtain my third (and hopefully last!) master's in theatre and performance. The award I received from AAF helped me to pay for my tuition and fees this semester, making it easier to focus on my research. My short-term goal is to advance my theoretical writing skills, and my long-term goal is to submit this thesis as a writing sample and research proposal for my future PhD applications in performance studies and social anthropology. It is my lifelong dream to get my PhD in a high-ranked American university, and at some point have a job that pays me to read, think, and write. Your donation has provided me with the opportunity to take a step closer toward achieving these goals. I am humbled by your support, and I look forward to giving back to our community through my scholarship, as well as financially assisting future generations of students."
"I’m a Master of science student in Civil engineering here at Texas State University. I am writing this to firstly appreciate you and then let you know of your impact on my life, by kindly sharing that scholarship with me; and, rather than talking about my past history, I would like to discuss your footprint in my professional life, as a researcher, engineer, and inventor. I believe all of us have been born with a purpose, all of us have something to do beyond our knowledge. For me it has always been excelling in my daily life and being able to come to America and study at an American university because I grew up seeing and listening to the many great individuals having immigrated to the US such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California. Although my possessions have not been much, but I had a full control over my own personal and daily life and excelling has always been a matter of individual discipline for me. After all the untold things that I have matter of individual discipline for me. After all the untold things that I have gone through to get to the US, my only problem to excel was my financial insecurity because I am receiving a $1350 stipend monthly and pay ~$8400 tuition annually. With associated costs such as mandatory health insurance and housing, there is a $10,000 difference in my expense versus my income which is impossible to survive without working outside illegally. Before receiving your scholarship, I had to think about how to survive. But your help, your support, your presence, allowed me to re-configure my mindset to show my potential to excel academically. After receiving your generous funding, I decided to repay your support through action and show you the impact you had in my life. I started my intense review of research articles in my field (concrete materials) and spent countless hours to ensure that I do not waste a penny of what I was generously given. I setup 9 browsers in my laptop and used all possible resources I had, to be the person who does the impossible. I lived, breathed and fought to write this essay today for you and say that I worked 1554 hours in the last 7 months to appreciate you."