At John Jay College, we know that our diversity is our strength. A vital component of that diversity comes from our proud immigrant community. Over 30 percent of the John Jay student population identifies as being an immigrant—a number that balloons if we consider students who are children of immigrants. In an effort to acknowledge, celebrate, and better understand the immigrant experience at John Jay, we’ve created this article series called “An Immigrant Story.” Here, we hope to share the rich, varied, and inspiring journeys of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni from our immigrant community.

Fatima Moien ’22 has had a successful journey at John Jay, but she knows it wouldn’t have been possible without the sacrifice her parents made when they moved from their native Pakistan to New York. “When my dad visited New York for the first time, he immediately noticed the cultural differences between Pakistan and America. Here, people, especially women, have a lot more rights; they are freer here. He wanted that freedom for all of us,” says Moien, a Criminal Justice major and ¡Adelante! team leader. “My parents left everything behind—family, friends, and their native country. They left it all to ensure that my brother and I had a good education and a chance at living a happy and fulfilled life, because in Pakistan opportunities and education are limited, especially for girls like me.”

Assimilating into the Culture
As the family settled into their new life in the U.S., first moving to Queens, then Long Island, New York, they attempted to assimilate into what they considered was the American culture. “We changed our last names, let go of some of the traditional Pakistani conservative views we held, and tried to live that white picket fence suburban lifestyle—just trying to be more American,” she recalls, discussing how the family sought to fit in. “My mom always told me and my brother to keep our heads down, not talk back, and to stay out of trouble, because she wanted us to blend in and not call attention to ourselves.”

At home, Moien’s parents did their best to keep the family connected to their Pakistani and Muslim roots, while also recognizing their new American identity. “My parents were open-minded and encouraged us to pursue things that brought us joy, and that helped build confidence in our abilities and potential,” she says, noting that she was able to explore her interests in ways she wouldn’t have been able to in Pakistan. “I took up a lot of sports, like fencing. I did taekwondo and even competed on a global level, traveling all over the world. I immersed myself in the creative arts. It was these kind of opportunities my parents came here for, and they supported each endeavor all the way.”

Being Bullied
While she thrived creatively, in athletics, and at home, Moien found herself struggling in the predominantly white K–12 schools she attended, feeling like she didn’t fit in. “Very early on in life I knew I was different. There were very clear, distinctive differences between me and my peers. I was an immigrant. I was obviously brown and Muslim, and until the fifth grade I wore a hijab,” says Moien, admitting she was bullied by her peers. “If there was something wrong, I was the one they blamed. They would pick on me and call me horrible names, like ‘terrorist,’” she remembers. “Culture runs so deep. It was in the way I looked, the way I dressed, and in the food I ate. Everything about my identity was something I felt I had to change in order to fit in and that always made me feel like I was less than.”

One moment that vividly stands out to Moien was during high school, when she was given an assignment called Operation Change. “Everyone in the class had to come up with something they wanted to change in the school. I realized, I had been in this school for six years and the cafeteria didn’t offer halal food. So, I decided I would try to get halal added to the cafeteria menu,” recalls Moien, adding that she went on to discuss the topic with the school principal. “The following week, the teacher announced that the principal asked for the entire class project to be canceled because a student came up to her. That student was me. I thought, She must have felt so threatened by me, my culture, and the mere mention of halal food that she canceled the project. I remember being so heartbroken because it was the one time I stood up for my culture and it was immediately seen as a threat to the norm and disregarded.”   

Finding Validation at John Jay
Having gone through a difficult high school experience, Moien couldn’t wait to attend college. “One of the things that really drew me to John Jay College was how the administration, faculty, and staff encouraged students to speak up and advocate for change,” she says. “It showed that the College valued its students’ input, their voices, and their experiences.” Once at John Jay, it took Moien some time to get used to the new environment—“given what I had gone through, I came in feeling very jaded and very negative about school”—but her approach quickly changed when she learned of the ¡Adelante! program and was assigned a peer success coach, Joshua Amador ’20, during a first-year seminar class. “I met with my ¡Adelante! peer success coach for coaching sessions, where he provided me with campus resource information, and advised me. I found that I was able to be very honest with him about my life experiences,” says Moien. “We came from completely different backgrounds and most of the time had different perspectives on things, but he understood me. That kind of one-on-one support and acceptance was something I was really grateful for. I needed that.” Encouraging Moien to step outside her comfort zone, Amador suggested she interact with College’s diverse student community and join the editorial team for the school newspaper The Sentinel where she could find her voice and feel empowered—she’s been named the Editor-in-Chief for the 2021–2022 academic year. He also inspired Moien to become a peer success coach herself. “I wanted to give new students that same level of understanding, validation, and support Joshua and ¡Adelante! gave me,” says Moien. “After feeling like an outsider most of my life, being part of ¡Adelante! made John Jay feel like home. It was at John Jay where I learned that there is power in your identity.”

Becoming Empowered
Reflecting on her experience with ¡Adelante!, Moien is most appreciative of how accepting of her the program was. “The fact that ¡Adelante!, a Latinx leadership program, saw me, a brown Muslim girl, and said ‘Hey, you’re one of us, join us,’ was really affirming for me,” she says. “It made me feel like I belonged. And the fact that Nancy Yang, a member of the AAPI community, is the director of the program showed me how much John Jay values diversity.” This past year, as an ¡Adelante! team leader, Moien has been able to provide her John Jay peers with the support and space they need to be open and share their stories. “Interacting with people from different countries, religions, and cultures, is such a learning experience. It’s in those moments of interaction where you realize just how similar we are at the end of the day. For me, being an ¡Adelante! mentee, peer success coach, and finally team leader, I can say I have learned and grown so much. I’m a better person.”

When she looks back at her John Jay journey, Moien’s fondest memories involve ¡Adelante! “One of my favorite moments was when I had the chance to introduce John Jay alumna, former Dreamer, and New York State Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz ’05 during an ¡Adelante! event,” says Moien, who was a panelist during the event. “To be able to speak with someone, who like me lived the immigrant experience, and is now in public office helping her community, was really transformative. As she answered my questions, she helped me realize that I should embrace my identity and my own journey. She enabled me to see just how incredible and powerful our experiences as immigrants are.”

Amplifying Immigrant Stories
Inspired by her ¡Adelante! experience, Moien is looking ahead to her future, where she hopes to tell the stories of underrepresented and disenfranchised communities through her writings and documentaries. “I want to be a storyteller so that I can shine a light on the experiences of all the groups that are seen as different—from Immigrants to Blacks, Latinx to the Asian community,” says Moien. “Representation is so important. So, if I can pick up a camera to film, or write a story to show, what it means to be a Muslim in America, I want to do that. Because I want the next little brown boy or little brown girl to know that they are not alone. There are people in this country that value you, celebrate your identity, and know you bring so much to the table.”