19 May 2005
Monash students have won the Victorian Rhodes Scholarship for the past four years. The 2005 winner, Farnaz Sabet, talks about what it means to her.
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| A passionate life: Ms Farnaz Sabet with Bedouin children in Jordan. |
I was asked during a Rhodes Scholarship interview to name three people I admired, and I kicked myself afterwards thinking of the answers I wished I had given.
I forgot to mention Tahirih, a Persian heroine of the 1850s whose story all Baha'i children read with awe. As I am a sixth-generation member of the Baha'i Faith -- an independent religion that began in Iran in the 19th century -- her story has always inspired me.
Born in a country and era that stifled the lives of women, Tahirih displayed a passion for learning and later became the first woman to join the Baha'i Faith.
I was born in Iran in 1980 during a tumultuous period -- the resurgence of its religious fundamentalism -- that brought increased persecution of the Baha'is, the largest religious minority in that country.
My family fled to Australia, via India and Zambia. I grew up in small towns where there was not only racial prejudice but also intellectual prejudice. However, this was overshadowed by Australia's general atmosphere of inclusiveness and opportunity.
I believe that what gives a person honour and distinction is not wealth or status but their capacity to do social good and the strength of their character. This belief is so firm within me that I took a year off after Year 12 to volunteer in communities throughout Japan, Korea and Zambia.
I returned to Monash, where I had a wonderful time studying medicine. I often think the experience changed my outlook in many ways.
It is a privilege to study medicine. Even as a student, you gain access to the personal details of your patients' lives and are in a position to provide them with comfort when they are most vulnerable.
Medicine challenges you on all fronts -- intellectually, socially, personally and, for some, spiritually. It demands of you not only a high standard of knowledge, but of behaviour, ethics, communication and dedication. These qualities, however, cannot come from a course alone.
An element of many people's lives is a desire to help others. After serving in communities in Zambia, Tanzania, and outback Australia, I became almost addicted to it. I clearly enjoy learning from books, but learning from people has been the highlight of my education.
Although I did well in my Year 12 studies, an entire village of Zambian women would smile and laugh each time I attempted to get water out of the well. And it took me forever to learn how to grind peanuts!
Opportunities arose to visit other places. A lecture on Aboriginal health prompted me to spend five weeks in Kintore, one of Australia's most remote Aboriginal communities.
I have never experienced such great community spirit. On New Year's Eve, everyone came up to the health workers, picking us up, twirling us around and wishing us a good year.
Another summer was spent at Bugando, a hospital in Tanzania, where I could use the skills learned during my tertiary education.
At times some of the injustices in the world are overwhelming. Yet there was a special quality I admired in some of the workers at Bugando -- they maintained compassion without sentimentality.
Overall, I have gained more from the people I have met in my travels than I have given to them and am somewhat embarrassed that people may see it as the opposite. | 
