‘Learn the art of saving or investing’

Bangladeshi world traveller “Seemona Rahman”, was an international student and now a young mother. Till now she has travelled to 92 countries from all 7 continents and has visited all 7 wonders of the world. She has recently given an exclusive interview to risingbd, sharing her experiences and different sights of her life.  The interview was taken by Nabila Nowshin.

Hello, how are you?
I am good, thank you so much!

From where did you complete your O levels and A levels?
I did my O levels from Scholastica in Dhaka, Bangladesh and IB (International Baccalaureate) from Red Cross Nordic United World College (UWC), Norway.

Tell us about your university life!
I feel university life started a little earlier for me, right during my high school as it was the first time I went to live away from my home in a boarding school setting. I was in 10th grade in Dhaka and preparing for my O Levels from Scholastica when I was recommended by our principal to apply to the United World Colleges (UWC). It is an international school where they invite one student from each country for 11th and 12th grade as a representative to study the International Baccalaureate (IB). There are many branches around the world and students are selected on the basis of merit and an in-person interview with a panel of about 10 interviewers. Questions range from politics, biotechnology to testing singing skills. I was lucky to be the only one selected to attend on a Full Scholarship and picked Norway. However, my parents were not keen on me studying abroad at that age. When I finally convinced them to let me attend, the semester there had already started. When I stepped on the stunning campus, I realized why my father thought that it was not a good fit for me. I had to share my room with four other girls (each representing a different country) while having to take care of myself while partaking in a rigorous academic curriculum. They thought I was too young. In fact my father waited for me for two whole days so I would come back home with him. But I had committed to it and did not want to give up just yet. I told him, “I am a soldier.” I am very close to my family and being away from them was hard. Studying subjects like English Literature and Spanish along with Norwegian at that level was outside my comfort zone to say the least (I am a quant-minded person). But it wasn’t just that. Suddenly, I found myself fund raising and organizing Educational Summer Camps in Serbia, working with HIV patients in Czech Republic, attending EU Youth Summits, learning how to ski, making movies - The list goes on.

UWC not only provided me with life-long friends but also taught me to be self-sufficient and fully independent from the age of 16. It opened me to amazing experiences like attending the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Norway when Muhammad Yunus was awarded and the World of Travel.
 

I did my undergraduate at University of Wisconsin – Madison and later graduate school at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. During my undergrad, I was able to complete a double major in Mathematics and Economics with distinction a year earlier than the anticipated graduation date, which was amazing and then later did my graduate degree in Applied Economics. Since I was part of the Honors program at Wisconsin, I had the opportunity to work with some truly incredible individuals who taught me a lot. Besides that I was part of the Wisconsin Emerging Scholars Program (WES) that allowed me to work on a lot of Math research topics. While being part of a sorority, Alpha Omega Epsilon, I was also a resident tutor for Mathematics and Economics. My travels during my undergraduate days were largely within the US.

Currently where are you living?
I am currently living in the New York Area, United States of America.

Where are you working right now?
I work in Corporate Strategy for a leading global fashion brand in New York.

Where did you live during your childhood? Tell us one memorable story from your childhood!
We spent a few years in Sweden when I was little, primarily for my dad’s studies but I was born and brought up in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We lived in Gulshan–1. As we just spent our Eid this year in quarantine, my favorite memory has to be from our Eid days when I was young. I still remember how we used to do a road trip to Faridpur every year and spent it at my grandparents’ historic bungalow with the entire Rahman Clan. Feasting, fun and family – they were easily the most amazing days of my childhood.

Do you want to give any advice to your 18 year-old self?
To my 18-year old self I would say – I know life is full of uncertainty at this point but don’t worry, everything always works out in the end. Embrace the adventure!

Learn the art of saving and investing – It is the key to financial literacy.

Is there anything that you wanted to achieve from your childhood and you have now achieved? If yes, then what is that and how did you achieve that?
From a young age I was a very headstrong girl. I think I wanted to be fully independent from an age when I didn’t even know what it truly meant. I think I have finally managed to do that and it was only possible through academics in my case.
 

In this moment we all know we have got some precious free time. So, what are you doing with this time? Are you doing something productive? Then share it with us! We would love to know your activities.
Quarantine has given us a lot of much needed family time. Besides that I have been trying to do creative activities with my 3-year old daughter as she is home without school. Juggling work from home with a kid has been all consuming but this quarantine has finally given me the opportunity to start my Travel Blog on Instagram - @seemona.rahman. My webpage is also up: www.mebyair.com.

Here, I document my travels from all the 92 countries, 7 continents, 7 wonders of the world and various territories. I write about all my travel stories, experiences, tips and funded travel opportunities. As South Asians are underrepresented in the travel community, I hope to inspire people to travel more when things get better. Travel is truly life-changing.

As I see you are a world traveller, since when did you start to travel? And who is your best partner for that?
I truly started travelling when I went to my high school in Norway and never stopped since. While I largely traveled through organizations and conferences with the Red Cross and the UN at first, these days my best travel partner is my 3-year old daughter Aroha as we travel solo quite a bit for work and pleasure.

You have already travelled to 92 countries from all 7 continents. So, if you get a chance to stay forever in a country (from your visit) which country will it be? And why?
I am currently in the United States of America and I would love to live here forever. Efficiency is very important for me and this country has not personally disappointed me in that regard. That being said, we recently went to Bali for a family trip and often talk about retiring there. The biggest reason is how nice, kind and patient we have found the Balinese people to be.

Before this quarantine, which one was your last visited country? And which will be your next after this quarantine gets over?
While not an independent country, my daughter Aroha and I visited Aruba, a Dutch territory in February. The plan was to go to Namibia next but after the quarantine we will pick a country depending on the season.

Every country has its own specialty, cultures and tastes. So, did you find any similarities in every country? If yes, then what is that?
Every country is very different but I think what I found common in every place was how food united people so easily. Everyone is extremely passionate about his or her own food and that is irrespective of country or nationality. I guess food truly makes us feel at home.
 

I know you have already visited so many countries and all are different from each other. But did you face any problems for suddenly getting into a different culture from yours? If yes, then how did you overcome that?
The first time I came face to face with the fact that I need to develop cultural and international understanding was when I went to Norway for my high school. I went from a conservative and protective family of a Muslim country to a very liberal nation where even gay marriage was legalized. Adjusting to that culture did not come naturally to me but UWC taught me that one of the key ingredients for world peace was exactly this – cultural and international understanding. It is one of our school’s pillars.

How did you manage time for travelling?
As I was a student for quite some time, I had a lot of long summer and winter vacations along with spring breaks. I was also fortunate to attend a lot of conferences on various issues.

Give some tips for future travellers!
If exploring the world is one of your priorities, be smart about it – prioritize, look for opportunities, make time for it and save accordingly. If saving for it is an issue, always ask yourself before buying something – will I really suffer without it?

After 10 years where do you want to see yourself?
I see myself in a bigger leadership role in the Manhattan Fashion Scene in 10 years and also would love to run a small business of my own. In the future, I want to help more young people from our country Bangladesh to see the world for themselves. But what I am most excited about is seeing Aroha grow up to be a teenager by then!

In your journey who were the people always beside you and whom do you want to say thanks the most?
Undoubtedly, I have had some great mentors throughout my academic journey but my biggest supporters were always my parents who accepted and supported me on every decision even when they were unconventional.

So, in series #30days30souls you are one of those 30 people. How do you feel to take part in this?
I am truly honored to be part of this amazing series. Thank you so much for thinking of me. It has been a humbling experience.

And also, there are 29 more people like you who are passionate about their work and doing great for the World. Do you want to give any message to them?
I am very excited to read all their unique stories and am proud of each and every one of them. I want to say, that girl, you are doing great. Just be true to yourself and do your magic!



Dhaka/Mukul