Afghan refugee student named Eastern Oregon University President’s Scholar

Eastern Oregon University named Mohtarama “Mary” Qazizada its 2026 President’s Scholar, recognizing a student path that runs from Afghanistan and Turkey to La Grande and now to one of the university’s top honors. The award comes with a $300 EOU Foundation scholarship and the opportunity to address graduates at the Student Awards Assembly and Commencement on the La Grande main campus.

Qazizada’s recognition carries weight far beyond campus ceremony. She fled Afghanistan in 2019, spent nearly three years in Turkey with her brother and his family, and arrived at EOU in fall 2022 with language barriers and the challenges of building a life in a new country. In an earlier EOU profile, she said education was a birthright, a view shaped by being born and raised in Afghanistan and by her concern over the loss of educational opportunity there, especially for women.

At EOU, Qazizada turned that experience into academic momentum. She is a double major in mathematics and computer science and has kept a 3.9 GPA while doing research, tutoring and software development work. She said one of the most surprising parts of the journey was becoming a math major and finishing the degree at all. For Union County families watching young people weigh whether to stay, leave or return, her story shows what can happen when persistence meets a campus with faculty support and clear pathways into research.

Her work with professor Amy Yielding produced two published papers in EOU’s science journal, focused on permuted sums, a branch of number theory with possible links to cryptography and technology applications. She also served as a mathematics and computer science tutor in the EOU Learning Center and as a student software developer for the Computer Science Department, roles that put her in the middle of the university’s day-to-day academic life.

EOU’s mathematics department says all math majors must complete individualized research as part of their senior capstone, with early involvement encouraged. Students can publish in the Eastern Oregon Science Journal and present at the EOU Spring Symposium and regional conferences, a structure that helps turn coursework into public scholarship. Qazizada’s symposium project, It’s Pentagons All the Way Down!, won Best Presentation, adding another visible marker to a record that has built over several semesters.

The honor also fits EOU’s broader identity as Oregon’s Rural University, with classes in La Grande, online and at centers across the state. For a university trying to keep high-achieving students connected to eastern Oregon, Qazizada represents more than individual success. She reflects the kind of leadership EOU is choosing to elevate: academically strong, rooted in service and capable of turning a difficult beginning into opportunity for the region.