To truly excel in any career, you must make sacrifices. Okxana Cordova-Hoyos is making the ultimate sacrifice this summer, traveling to Tajikistan to participate in a volunteer effort with IRODA to raise awareness of autism spectrum disorder.
“I have always loved volunteering,” Cordova-Hoyos said. “I volunteered all through high school at the Voorhees Pediatric facility, and that cemented my decision to pursue a career in the medical field for children.”
The program seeks to serve two purposes, according to Stefan Cornibert, program director at America’s Unofficial Ambassadors.
“This program is part of a service learning course at TCNJ,” Cornibert said. “We are trying to give aid to a country that needs it, while also trying to dispel American stereotypes in the Muslim world.”
Cordova-Hoyos will be in Tajikistan for six weeks, where she will work with children and create a website for the IRODA organization. She will also chronicle her journey in a blog.
During her time in Tajikistan, she hopes to provide aid to the children and parents who would otherwise have no help and to spread the word about IRODA.
“At the ground level, what IRODA stands for is important,” she said. “This is seen even in the organization’s name. IRODA, while an acronym for Parents of Children with Autism Initiative, also means willpower in Tajik.”
Cordova-Hoyos expects that this experience will change her life forever and hopes she will be able to impart some of the knowledge she gains on the Voorhees community.
“I will be giving presentations in Voorhees and at TCNJ when I return to show that being a Muslim country does not automatically mean that the country is involved with the Taliban or terrorist groups or that they hate America,” she said. “We are working to dispel stereotypes on both sides of the equation.”
She also hopes to inspire students at Eastern High School to try new things.
“I hope to be an example that anything can be accomplished and that it’s good to get out of your comfort zone,” Cordova-Hoyos said. “If someone had told me last year that I would be living in Central Asia this summer, I would have laughed. Being here has been so different from anything I’ve ever done and I’m glad I decided to do it.
“You never learn if everything is always the same. Being so far from home also helps to show yourself that you can do it by yourself and that you are stronger than you think.”
