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Goodnight Spotlight: Afzaa Mujibur Rahman

Goodnight Celebrates Women’s History Month!

Afzaa Mujibur Rahman, Goodnight Scholar Class of 2026, is passionate about becoming a future STEM role model for young girls. Read on to learn more about her interests and goals.

Tell us about yourself!

I am a part of the Goodnight class of 2026 and am planning to major in Biomedical Engineering. I love art (especially acrylic painting), robotics, plants, and traveling to new places. I have a soft spot for peaceful walks in botanical gardens, and love visiting the plant conservatory and arboretum. When I’m not in class or studying, you can find me painting a landscape, tending to my plants, or out exploring. A fun fact about me is that I hope to travel to every continent, including Antarctica!

Do you have any extracurriculars you would like to discuss?

I am a part of the Science Olympiad Alumni Association and Horticulture Club at NC State. I am passionate about science and sharing STEM with youth, and have been involved with Science Olympiad for the past nine years. Whether it’s competing, being a captain, volunteering, or test writing, I’ve enjoyed playing a part of every role in the program. I love plants, nature, and gardening, and decided to join the Horticulture club to embrace this interest and broaden my knowledge on plants.

What are some of your favorite aspects of the Goodnight Scholars program?

I love the bountiful opportunities to meet other students, all from a variety of backgrounds and with different interests and experiences. Since Goodnight scholars come from a variety of places, it’s always fascinating learning about everyone’s hometowns and places they grew up in. I also love hearing about others’ unique passions and goals; STEM encompasses a large variety of intriguing subjects and topics, and I’m always excited to learn about what other scholars are interested in. Hearing about others’ stories and perspectives is something I cherish most, and is also why I love traveling. Another favorite aspect of the program is the opportunity to travel and explore. I will be going to a variety of places, due to the opportunities provided by the Goodnight Scholars Program, which I’m very excited for. 

Tell us about your experiences as a woman within your STEM major, at NC State, and throughout your life.

Throughout my life, one of the biggest things I faced in my STEM endeavors was lack of representation. Whether it was at a competition, a club, or even in some of my classes and extracurriculars to this day, I got used to being the odd one out. I’ve always felt like I need to change or prove myself in order to fit in. Growing up, I didn’t really have role models in STEM that looked like me, but this has fueled me to one day become the scientist and engineer that future young girls can look up to. A highlight of my identity is the opportunity to bond with others with the same interests as me, and be able to learn and share from our experiences. Meeting other students pursuing biomedical engineering has led to some of my most interesting and meaningful conversations, and is something I’ll always seek and cherish at NC State.

What are your future life and career goals? How do these connect to your identity?

I have always wanted to conduct research and add on to the knowledge of the scientific community. I currently am hoping to pursue research in biomedical engineering and related fields. It is from the research I’ve conducted in the past that I found my passion for BME to begin with. I’ve always been fascinated with the process of doing scientific research, as well as the innovation and creativity that comes with engineering; I seek to combine and be a part of both. This goal also ties in with my identity- representation is critical in producing accurate and inclusive research, and I hope to be a part of that in the future. By having inclusion and diversity in research, we take a step towards more valuable and significant knowledge to share with the world.

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