Feda Mohammadi, an Aspire Leaders Program alumnus and a 2024 Diana award recipient, was born and raised in the small village of Ghazni Jaghori in Afghanistan. In the fall of 2023, he arrived at Berea College in Kentucky, USA, to pursue his dreams of studying computer science and economics. Behind his academic journey and Diana award lies a remarkable story of resilience and a mission to help thousands of students back home in Afghanistan.
Turning Point
In 2020, Mohammadi like several other students his age was preparing for national university entrance exams at a school in Kabul, Afghanistan. “October 24th, 2020, was a very horrific turning point in my life,” he recalls. There was an attack on his school in Kabul where he was preparing for national university entrance exams. While he escaped with injuries, he lost two of his best friends and over fifty other classmates in the incident.
Instead of letting tragedy define his path, Mohammadi channeled his pain into purpose. He began offering English and Math classes to students affected by war and financial hardships at the Mawoud Professional English Development Center. This experience revealed a deeper understanding of his country’s challenges.
“During my time teaching these students, I learned that war was part of a bigger problem – poverty,” he explains. “The majority of people in Afghanistan who could not get a proper quality education was due to financial reasons.” This motivated him to study computer science and economics to determine a way of improving access to education by understanding the intricacies of poverty.
In August 2021, the Taliban’s takeover brought on new challenges for Feda with the closure of universities and academies.
Aspire Leaders Program
Mohammadi learned about the Aspire Leaders Program from an Aspire alumnus at Berea College. ”[The program] was the starting point where I began thinking about using the abilities, skills, and knowledge that I was gaining to help others to some extent,” he shares. Before joining the program, he had an idea about starting an academy to improve access to education in Afghanistan. “During the final project assignment for Aspire Institute, I developed my idea further. I scaled it up, and I thought about how to execute it,” he explains. The idea led to the founding of the Afghan Scholars Academy, a virtual educational platform.
Afghan Scholars Academy
The academy has helped over 3,200 students in just one year. They provide crucial support for Afghan students seeking international education opportunities, offering everything from English language classes to college application guidance.
“When I first started, I did not expect this to become as big as it is right now,” Feda shares. “Most students don’t know where to start.”
Working with a team of 25 volunteers spread across multiple countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Turkey, and Pakistan, Mohammadi runs the academy using materials he developed, including a series of six academic English books for test preparation.
Diana Award
His extraordinary efforts recently earned him the prestigious Diana Award, the highest accolade a young person can receive for social action and humanitarian work. “It’s not just an achievement to me, but also to my team at Afghan Scholars Academy, who have been working with me so hard,” he says humbly.
Recognizing Feda’s extraordinary commitment to helping others, his Berea College advisor Edwin Broadhead quietly nominated him. “He knew what I was doing, because I was very busy, and he was always asking me what I was doing besides my classes,” Feda recalls. “He was always telling me, ‘Hey Feda, you’re doing a great job, and I love what you’re doing.'”
A month before the announcement, Broadhead revealed his nomination to Feda, assuring him that even if unsuccessful this year, he would nominate him again. The good news arrived while Feda was at a conference – he had been selected as a Diana Award recipient, joining the ranks of some of the world’s most influential young humanitarians.
“It was amazing news, and I was so happy,” Feda shares, his gratitude evident in his voice. “I’m very grateful to him.”
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, Mohammadi has ambitious plans for the academy. “We are trying to expand our reach to more people in underrepresented areas in rural areas in Afghanistan,” he explains. He’s also working on a new initiative to share the stories of Afghan girls banned from schools, aiming to bring global attention to their situation.
“We have more than 1.4 million girls who are currently in the country who do not have access to education,” Mohammadi notes, highlighting the urgent need for continued support and awareness of educational barriers in Afghanistan.
Through determination and vision, Mohammadi has transformed personal tragedy into a powerful force for change, creating educational opportunities for thousands of Afghan students while pursuing his own academic journey.
