Conversation with Faisal
Atif Qarni, Virginia Secretary of Education
Secretary of Education of Virginia, Atif Qarni, is the first Pakistani American appointed to a Cabinet position of any state in the United States for a full four-year term. He was appointed by Governor Ralph Northam, 73rd Governor of Virginia, in January 2018.
Secretary Atif Qarni was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and came to the United States with his family in 1988 at the age of 10. He is married to Fatima with whom he met in college and has two boys, Zane-sixteen years old and Saber-eleven years old. He says Pakistani values and American values are the same when it comes to education. All parents want their kids to have a good education and succeed in life.
Atif had his share of challenges growing up and adjusting to a new culture and learning a new language. He faced a lot of discrimination in school and was called unpleasant epithets, which was overwhelming at times. “In spite of these challenges, I was able to accomplish a lot, due to schools and systems that offered me a range of opportunities,” he says. After high school, he joined the US Marine Corps where he served for eight years and completed a tour in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Atif enrolled into a community college after military service and then received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from George Washington University in Washington DC and then a Master’s degree in History and teaching licensure from George Mason University in Virginia.
Atif chose teaching as a profession following the footsteps of his mother who was a schoolteacher, in Pakistan, and his grandmother, who was a school principal. In an interview with Pakistan Link, Secretary Qarni stated, “I believe the best life is a life lived in service of others”. He taught mathematics, civics, economics, and US history in middle school in the second largest school system in Virginia, Washington DC metropolitan area. He also served as a GED Night School Instructor. In 2016, Atif was recognized as the Dale City Teacher of the Year.
Atif believes his service in the Marines and his service as a public school teacher gave him the confidence to advocate forthose whose voices remain unheard. At the end of our conversation, Secretary Qarni said he believes that “we all rise by lifting others”.
Atif focuses on three major issues while he is the Secretary of Education.
i. Enhancing Virginia’s early childhood education system
ii. Ensuring our [Virginia’s] public K-12 education system meets the needs of every Virginia student, no matter who they are or where they live
iii. Creating affordable pathways from classroom to career
Atif says he watches Pakistani TV dramas and Bollywood movies to relax. Currently, he is reading Addicted to Reform: A 12-Step Program to Rescue Public Education by John Merrow, and Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play by Mitchel Resnick.
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