By Randa Anthony and Amy Vohs
Her dream was to go to college in the United States.
After a major surgery that left her uncertain about her future, she decided to live her dream and left her homeland.
Seven years later, Kaushalya Jagasia has not only fulfilled her dream, she has surpassed it. In the fall, "Koshu," as she is known to students and staff, became a full-time member of the IVCC faculty, teaching English, which she learned as a second language, to American students.
Speaking to a journalism class in March, Jagasia said after she left India, she lived in New York and Chicago because she had friends there. She visited her husband’s cousins who live in this area, and they gave her a tour of IVCC.
"I fell in love with the place," she said, explaining why she has remained. "People here are very loving, giving."
Overall, what does she think of Americans?
"Americans have an inner freedom that I truly admire," she said.
Replying to a question about whether Americans are spoiled she said, "Americans are pampered, not spoiled; you should enjoy what you have."
In the U.S., in contrast to India, she said, "I don't see so many closed doors. The poor in India have no options."
But even those above the poverty level in India have fewer options, as she explained it.
"You have to make it to college," she said. "If you don't get a good education, you don't get ahead."
When she was growing up, "If you were a good student you became a doctor or an engineer."
Although she started in a science curriculum, Jagasia did not follow that pattern, however, because she married after her first year of college and did not continue as a full-time student. She did eventually earn a B.A. and an M.A. in English and Sindhi both from Gujarat University.
As a student here she has earned a Certificate in Early Childhood Education and an A.S., both with honors. She also has a Certificate in Learning Disabilities and Second Language Learning from the American University in Washington, D.C.
Her interest and ability in English, one of six languages she speaks fluently, traces back to her family.
"My father loved English," she said, explaining that he wrote a book of poems in English, took her and her younger sisters to English movies, read to them in English and gave them quizzes.
In school she began studying English in the fifth grade.
She doesn't find it unusual that she is a non-native teaching English to natives.
"I just learned to do it the right way."
What she didn't learn at home was how to throw away food.
After describing the beggars in India who come every night asking for food, she said, "I have learned to throw away food, but I save it in the fridge until there is mold on it"
Jagasia was born in Karachi, in what is now Pakistan but was India then. Some of her earliest memories are of her family fleeing to Bombay to escape religious persecution when Pakistan became an independent nation.
"There was looting; there was rape," she said.
"My parents and grandparents, they left everything," she said, explaining that even their Muslim friends were afraid to speak to them since her family was Hindu.
She has other early memories of India under British rule.
"I know of signs in the windows that said ‘Indians and dogs not allowed,’ even though it was our own country."
Living here, however, Jagasia said she has experienced the opposite of discrimination with people in this area being very friendly and accepting.
Claiming she used to be shy, Jagasia said she loves to share information about her culture, and she loves to teach.
"When you do something that you love so much, you get over it (shyness)."
While she returns to India to visit as often as she can, she is not sure if she will return home to stay.
"One of the reasons why I do feel like going back to India is (students there) are much needier," she said. "But students here give such good feedback – I do feel blessed."
April 8, 1999, the Apache