West Potomac Wire

Grace Powell

  Ten years ago senior Mariya Ilyas knew how to say five words in English: Hello, my name is Mariya. To say she has come far is an understatement; she has traveled leaps, bounds, and literally miles from the girl she used to be in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

   Her story begins with five brothers. One of those brothers was Ilyas Hussain; he turned out to be the more ambitious and studious of the five, a dreamer.  He was the only one to venture outside of the family for a wife and the only one to go to America. In Pakistan, the five brothers all lived with their families on one large compound. All of their children played together and their wives swapped cooking recipes and gossip; it was a life centered on family and community.

 “Today I am the opposite of everything I was in Pakistan…it all comes down to education.” Ilyas said she was an unmotivated student in Pakistan, her behavior often earned her beatings with a ruler or stick – in front of the whole classroom. “I didn’t care because I didn’t know I was supposed to care.”

   Yet, the dreamer wanted more for his daughters. “My dad was one of those people who believed in completing his education,” said Ilyas. So the family moved to Doha, Qatar for one year, where Ilyas remembers spending most of her days at the beach. Then in 1997, a lucky star fell upon Hussain, who was sponsored to live in America. After two years, he called his wife and four girls to join him.

   “In 1999, my life took a U-turn.” The Ilyas’ came to the United States amidst the pre-millennial mayhem, amidst the gigapets and Y2K bugs, a culture completely foreign to their own. The girls were thrust into the highly competitive Fairfax County School system. But this time, Ilyas was determined to succeed. Though she struggled to adapt to a new country and language, she graduated from the English Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) program at the end of sixth grade. This was one of her proudest moments. “After sixth grade, I really had a grasp of my ability.” Yet the momentary victory was halted by a wake-up call: that summer she returned with her family to Pakistan. “That experience was nothing more than clashing…I was an American, I had forgotten…”

   When they visited Pakistan in 2003, Ilyas said her family was looked at differently– the girls who wore American clothing were told to change the next day. “I felt like an outsider in the very home I grew up in.”

   Yet, at the end of the summer, Ilyas returned to America and everything took off from there. She immersed herself in schoolwork “I want[ed] to make straight A’s…I would cry when I got C’s.” Ilyas ran for class president in the seventh grade and won. “I was completely shocked!” she said.

   Ilyas’ high school career is nothing short of a whirlwind. She is a go-getter. She has helped champion the Student Government since her freshman year, serving as Treasurer, Historian and currently, as Class President. She has been involved in the Young Democrats for three years, this year serving as co-president. She volunteered yearly at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, was a part of the National Honors Society, and the Key Club. Yet, her heart remains dedicated to our school paper, The Wire. Ilyas had no idea what she was getting into when she signed up for Journalism. Her older sister Maryum encouraged her to take the class. When she learned the ins and outs of journalism, the court cases that dealt with first amendment rights, and the dizzying fast pace of this new world, she fell in love with it. “It really is just a unique, unique activity.” This year Ilyas served as Editor-in-Chief and plans to continue writing for the paper at Bowdoin College. “I owe it to Ms. Pierre” who as the adviser for three years helped guide and mentor Ilyas.

   “I will never forget Mariya Ilyas” said Spanish Foreign Language teacher Victoria O’Connor, “I was surprised that she didn’t learn English until she was eight years old…and how far she’s come,” she continued, “Her determination is an inspiration and I expect great things out of her.” Mariya is indeed an inspiration. She said that she has worked so hard because of her background. “I take that challenge because I was deprived of it, that opportunity didn’t exist [for me].” To say she is heading toward a bright future is also an understatement; she is sprinting, literally running to achieve her goals, and nobody will stop her.