When Fatemah Aljafar first arrived at Oregon State as an international student from Kuwait, she was thousands of miles from home, anyone she knew, and anything familiar. There were days she questioned if she had made the right decision.

But then, something changed. 

“A professor learned how to pronounce my name correctly. A classmate invited me to study. I shared meals, stress and inside jokes, and slowly Oregon State stopped feeling like a place I was passing through. It became my home away from home.”

As a result, she says she and her classmates “not only grew into future professionals, but also advocates, leaders and people who know how to show up for others. We learned the science, but we also learned how to listen, how to care, and how to speak up when it matters. This degree represents more than academic achievement. It’s proof of our resilience, of our community, and of the fact that even in a foreign place, you can build something real —friendships, memories and a sense of purpose.”

Fatemah chose to study nutrition and dietetics because she believes food is medicine and that access to proper care and nutrition is a basic human right. She chose Oregon State’s College of Health for its strong nutrition program and the way it supports international students and fosters a sense of belonging. 

“I came here looking for an education and ended up finding a diverse and welcoming community that I can now call my home away from home.” 

A 2025 College of Health graduation celebration speaker, Fatemah says, “I want my classmates to walk away feeling proud not just of what we’ve learned, but of who we’ve become. We’ve grown into future health care professionals who can lead with empathy, skill and purpose.”

Her next step is to study for a master’s degree in dietetics so that she can eventually work in drug and alcohol rehabilitation, an area where she says nutrition is often ignored but deeply needed. 

“OSU helped me get to graduation by giving me a solid clinical foundation, mentors who challenged me, and the confidence to step into complex spaces and do meaningful work,” she says. “Oregon State felt right from the start. The program is strong, the professors are passionate, and as an international student, I felt like I had the space to grow and be seen.”