My Background and Education
It was a warm summer evening in 1983. The world was getting dark, so did the village in Dhading district of Nepal. It was around 10 p.m. at night I was born at our house without any assistance from the nurses, doctors or health assistants, according to my mother, Khem Kumari Koirala. No one in the village would go to the hospital for their child delivery unless it was a complicated situation then. My childhood, until the age of eight, was spent in that village and I was taken to the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu, for the further education at the age of nine.
I was not even introduced with a single English alphabet during my education in the village where I was born. I used to live a simple life with my grandparents and help them in their household and agricultural work. The basic education-structure of the village was to help students write their names and read Nepali language books. Even today, a single teacher teaches four to five courses to all graders in the school where I started my educational career.
Later on, I completed my elementary, middle-school, and high school degrees in English medium schools in Kathmandu. It was very tough for me to study in English medium in the beginning but I was slowly used to their teaching patterns. I was always securing good positions in my classes due to my hard work and commitment to learning.
My parents always wanted me to study Science and be a doctor or an engineer, but my inclination towards writing, reporting and researching the social aspects of lives led me to choose Humanities in High School. Even though my dad wanted me to join a private High School in Journalism, I could not find a single private school that offered Journalism course. However, there are many Journalism schools established in Kathmandu in recent years. I joined a public school affiliated to Tribhuwan University, the only University in Nepal that offered Journalism then, and started my journalistic career. My keen interest in Mass Communication studies and enthusiastic nature in learning helped me receive a Gold Medal in Humanities School scoring the highest marks among the students.
It was again, I got admitted to a public college for my Bachelor's Degrees, where classes were barely taken because of ongoing strikes, riots, and demonstrations. The political situation of the country and the students' involvement in politics caused interruptions in education almost everyday. My parents were scared about the ongoing situation and my career goals. They decided to send me to the USA to pursue my university degrees.
Leaving the motherland including family members was not an easy step for me but I didn't have a better option either. On the other hand, adapting myself in a new culture and environment was obviously tough. In June 09, 2005, I was granted F-1 visa from the American Embassy in Kathmandu and flew to the United States on August 20, 2005 in pursuing my Bachelor's Degree from Lakeland College in Wisconsin.
Because the institution I was admitted in didn't have Journalism, I decided to earn a degree in Non-Profit Organization Management. I even made nursing an option to my studies. Later on, I came to know that I could do better in the field of my interest. I moved to Houston from Sheboygan, Wisconsin and started my Journalism classes in San Jacinto College, a two year community college in Houston, Texas. During my studies there, I also worked as a student reporter for San Jacinto Times for a semester.
In Spring semester of 2009, I transfered to University of Texas at Arlington and completed my Bachelor's Degree in Journalism in Fall 2010. Currently, I am enrolled as a full-time graduate student in University of North Texas in Denton for Master's Degree in Journalism (MJ non-thesis). My expected graduation at UNT is Spring 2013.
I will return back to Nepal after the completion of my Master's degree and look for a job equivalent to my qualifications and experiences.
I was not even introduced with a single English alphabet during my education in the village where I was born. I used to live a simple life with my grandparents and help them in their household and agricultural work. The basic education-structure of the village was to help students write their names and read Nepali language books. Even today, a single teacher teaches four to five courses to all graders in the school where I started my educational career.
Later on, I completed my elementary, middle-school, and high school degrees in English medium schools in Kathmandu. It was very tough for me to study in English medium in the beginning but I was slowly used to their teaching patterns. I was always securing good positions in my classes due to my hard work and commitment to learning.
My parents always wanted me to study Science and be a doctor or an engineer, but my inclination towards writing, reporting and researching the social aspects of lives led me to choose Humanities in High School. Even though my dad wanted me to join a private High School in Journalism, I could not find a single private school that offered Journalism course. However, there are many Journalism schools established in Kathmandu in recent years. I joined a public school affiliated to Tribhuwan University, the only University in Nepal that offered Journalism then, and started my journalistic career. My keen interest in Mass Communication studies and enthusiastic nature in learning helped me receive a Gold Medal in Humanities School scoring the highest marks among the students.
It was again, I got admitted to a public college for my Bachelor's Degrees, where classes were barely taken because of ongoing strikes, riots, and demonstrations. The political situation of the country and the students' involvement in politics caused interruptions in education almost everyday. My parents were scared about the ongoing situation and my career goals. They decided to send me to the USA to pursue my university degrees.
Leaving the motherland including family members was not an easy step for me but I didn't have a better option either. On the other hand, adapting myself in a new culture and environment was obviously tough. In June 09, 2005, I was granted F-1 visa from the American Embassy in Kathmandu and flew to the United States on August 20, 2005 in pursuing my Bachelor's Degree from Lakeland College in Wisconsin.
Because the institution I was admitted in didn't have Journalism, I decided to earn a degree in Non-Profit Organization Management. I even made nursing an option to my studies. Later on, I came to know that I could do better in the field of my interest. I moved to Houston from Sheboygan, Wisconsin and started my Journalism classes in San Jacinto College, a two year community college in Houston, Texas. During my studies there, I also worked as a student reporter for San Jacinto Times for a semester.
In Spring semester of 2009, I transfered to University of Texas at Arlington and completed my Bachelor's Degree in Journalism in Fall 2010. Currently, I am enrolled as a full-time graduate student in University of North Texas in Denton for Master's Degree in Journalism (MJ non-thesis). My expected graduation at UNT is Spring 2013.
I will return back to Nepal after the completion of my Master's degree and look for a job equivalent to my qualifications and experiences.