The Foreign Affairs Symposium (FAS) announced today that it would be creating an award in memory of alumna Anne Smedinghoff and that the inaugural recipient is education advocate Shabana Basij-Rasikh.
Smedinghoff, a 2009 Hopkins graduate and former co-chair of FAS, was killed last April by a suicide bomber while she was working for the State Department in Afghanistan. She was the first American diplomat to die in the line of duty since the 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi.
Smedinghoff joined the Foreign Service shortly after graduating and worked in Venezuela before she was posted to Afghanistan. She found unique ways to help people, such as starting a women’s soccer team in the Kabul region, and was on her way to deliver textbooks to schoolchildren when her convoy was struck. The 2014 Foreign Affairs Symposium was dedicated to her.
“Learning about her, a lot of us saw what we wanted to do in an ideal world, what we were looking to do with an international studies degree: go out and help the world and improve the lives of people who are underserved in the community,” junior Nikhil Gupta, co-executive director of FAS, said.
The award, which is to be presented during Alumni Weekend, is designed to honor a leader in the field of international development and diplomacy.
“It’s truly incredible how she put everything on the line to help these people, and with this event, we are attempting to show people the steps she took and acknowledge people who are following in her tracks,” junior Will Szymanski, co-executive director of FAS, said. “For selecting the award recipient, we researched diligently while working with Anne’s family and close friends, making it a very intensive process.”
This year’s recipient, 24-year-old Shabana Basij-Rasikh, overcame many obstacles to become educated in her home country of Afghanistan. When her country was under Taliban rule, she dressed up as a boy in order to attend school in secret. She attended high school in the United States under a State Department-sponsored program and went on to attend Middlebury College. After graduating in 2011, she returned to Afghanistan to found a boarding school for girls so that their pathway to receiving an education would be less challenging than her own.
“When we first heard of Shabana and learned of the work she was doing we knew she’d be the perfect inaugural recipient,” Alex Sadler, a freshman on the staff of FAS, said. “Not only is the story of her youth captivating and movie material, the way that she stuck with her ambitions and was able to create the incredible program she has today is truly unbelievable. She — just like Anne — has selflessly devoted her life to the betterment of her home country. Shabana’s passion, dedication and flat out toughness all show why she deserves to be the first Anne Smedinghoff Award winner.”
Szymanski echoed that statement.
“Organizing the award ceremony has been great. It’s an event with a lot of emotions, which has made us all excited for what’s to come,” Szymanski said.
The University has also honored Smedinghoff by creating the Anne Smedinghoff Memorial Fund, a scholarship for students aspiring to pursue activities in international development and diplomacy.
“The fund is extremely important because it financially backs others who reflect ideals that Anne held dear, as well as supports individuals whose visions for the future are extensions of the legacy Anne left behind,” Sara Shah, a freshman on the FAS staff, said.
One of the goals of the award ceremony and dedication of the 2014 Symposium is to raise awareness about the fund.
“In order for the fund to be self-sustainable, it must be endowed. Once it reaches $100,000, it will be added to the University’s endowment, which means that it will continue to repay for itself because the University will invest the money,” Gupta said. “As of this year, the fund is not endowed, and it’s at risk of not reaching the point of endowment. Our goal is really ambitious, but we really want to try to endow the fund. There’s a huge gap to fill, it’s about $50,000 that we have left to fundraise.”
Szymanski further emphasized the importance of the fund.
“Along the lines of the endowment, we simply want people to understand the life Anne lived and those embodying her actions. The endowment gives scholarship to students with goals in diplomacy and development — so really, we need to make sure Anne’s message is as clear as possible,” Szymanski said.
FAS hopes that their efforts will help preserve Smedinghoff’s inspiring legacy.
“Anne, to me, is an embodiment of what we should all be aiming for. Her death was tragic, of course, but it also showed the type of person she strived to be. Someone unfazed by the challenges ahead, someone only looking to do a little bit of good. She set an example not for just FAS staff or International Studies members, but for the entire Hopkins student body.” Sadler said.
