Continuing the Legacy: Alyson Gombas

Before coming to HGSE last fall, Alyson Gombas had already accrued several years of varied teaching experiences, including two years in Turkey, time in the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan, and a summer in India teaching English to Tibetan Buddhist nuns.

As the inaugural recipient of the Laura Kavazanjian Memorial Scholarship Fund, named for a 2010 HGSE alumna, Gombas is now stepping into a legacy of activism for the education of women and girls. The scholarship will be awarded annually to an HGSE student with an interest in international education, particularly in improving female access to education.

“I came to HGSE to ask good questions,” Gombas says, explaining that her time in Asia and the Middle East has left her with more big-picture questions than answers. The International Education Policy Program has given Gombas a theoretical foundation to supplement her practical experiences in the field.

In Kyrgyzstan, Gombas lived in a village where bride-kidnapping still occurs, and women struggle to overcome rigid social mores that have been in place for centuries. During her time there, Gombas befriended Nargiza, a diligent student who dreamed of traveling abroad to improve her English. Through an Indiegogo campaign online, Gombas raised the money for Nargiza to travel to the U.S. for a summer ESL program.

“That experience really opened Nargiza up to the wider world, and I would like to think it motivated her to want more for herself and for Kyrgyzstan,” Gombas says. “Nargiza is incredibly bright and hard-working, and I have no doubt she would have done great things even without this opportunity. But I'd like to think knowing somebody else had so much belief in her abilities gave her an extra little push forward.” Nargiza later received a full scholarship to the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where she is now a student.

In Turkey, Gombas observed firsthand the effects of sweeping education reforms in the 1990s, which increased the length of compulsory schooling from five to eight years. (After the passage of a controversial 2012 law, students are now required to attend 12 years of school.) The reforms also encouraged girls to attend primary schools, eventually increasing the number of women enrolled in Turkey’s universities. While Turkish women have greater access to education than many women around the world, Gombas believes there is still plenty of room for reform.

This spring, Gombas is taking the HGSE class, Education in Armed Conflict, which has shaped her view of education as an essential ingredient for peace and stability. “I have worked around refugee populations in both Turkey and Kyrgyzstan, but never had the right framework for understanding how important education was in those contexts,” Gombas says.

After leaving HGSE, Gombas plans to work in international development or return to the field in Turkey or the Middle East. “I am specifically interested in young girls and women in crisis and conflict settings, and how education can help build security and opportunity for them,” she says.

Read related story: In Laura's Name