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Because of her husband’s career in microbiology, Faryal Atif had no reason to believe the family’s path would ever stray from the bustling metropolises they had known. Atif was raised in Karachi, one of the largest cities in Pakistan. She and her husband spent six years living in Penang, Malaysia before moving to Atlanta, Georgia. Imagine her surprise when in 2016 her husband told Atif and their two sons that the family’s next move would be to New Iberia, Louisiana. The big city girl’s life soon changed in ways she never could have imagined.

“The first night we arrived in New Iberia, I was a little shocked,” Atif recalls. “It was a very big change from everything I’d ever known. Within only about two months of living here, I was completely in love with the community. I feel so right at home in New Iberia. My dream is to one day live on Main Street.”

While the cultural change was one she embraced with open arms, a less welcomed and more daunting change loomed on the horizon. Atif’s dream was always to be a teacher. She obtained her degree in Pakistan and began her teaching career in Malaysia. Just before moving to Louisiana, Atif was working on her Masters, receiving a graduate academic award. However, when she applied for a teacher’s certification through UL, where her husband is an assistant professor, she found out that none of her original credits from Pakistan would transfer and that she would have to start from scratch.

“I was so discouraged when I found out I had to start all over,” she states frankly. “I didn’t know how I was going to do it. But looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened. It was a true blessing in disguise. Life is all about learning, and through this experience, I’ve learned so much!”

Atif began her courses at SLCC in New Iberia. Her time there set the tone for the drive she would exhibit during her second round of academia. Atif took it upon herself to revitalize an abandoned greenhouse behind the campus. She spent tireless hours working in the greenhouse to get it up to operating condition, before starting a gardening club. Because of this work she became the first student from the New Iberia campus to receive the SLCC Student Service Award.

Once she was at UL, in a strange twist leading back to New Iberia, Atif was awarded the Oran Robert Perry scholarship, a scholarship set up by the James Lee Burke family. She explains that her education experience has been eye opening – she realized she wanted to specialize in literature and switch from elementary to secondary education. But, it has also come with sacrifices. The Atif family moved to UL’s family housing to be closer to campus.

While their daily lives are in Lafayette, their hearts are still in New Iberia. The first volunteer experience Atif had in New Iberia was the Team Curtis fundraiser in early 2018. The love she experience from that event prompted her to volunteer as often as she could. The Atifs are a huge part of the IPAL family. They also volunteered with the Sugar Cane Festival Farm Fest event and the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival.

“The way we have been embraced by this community, I know this is home. It’s just proof that as people we all have so much in common and we don’t even know it. When people open their homes and lives to you, you begin to see that no matter what you believe in or what religion you are, we all have the same core values.”