Kurdish student in the Netherlands named 2022 Student of the Year

Haji holds a five-year residency permit in the Netherlands and hopes to obtain citizenship eventually. 
Lava Haji (right) is announced the Netherland's 2022 Student of the Year, May 2022. (Photo: Niels Brouwers/Pixelbrouwers)
Lava Haji (right) is announced the Netherland's 2022 Student of the Year, May 2022. (Photo: Niels Brouwers/Pixelbrouwers)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Lava Haji, 19, is another success story of a Kurdish immigrant who struggled for recognition as a talented student in a highly competitive environment. And her struggles paid off as she was recently named 2022 Student of the Year of the Netherlands. 

In May, Haji was granted the title for secondary vocational education (MBO), which consists of four levels (Noorderpoort). It is one of the highly preferred areas of study for technical education. 

She is currently studying business administration at the MBO’s level four, which focuses on middle management training. Haji was also named the Ambassador of the vocational training establishment.

The young student left Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) with her family members in 2018 and settled in the city of Groningen in the northern Netherlands, where she began learning Dutch. She previously completed her primary school education in her village of Doogirka in northeastern Syria’s Hasakah province. 

Lava Haji (in headscarf) holds a placard declaring her the Netherland's 2022 Student of the Year, May 2022. (Photo: Courtesy of Lava Haji)
Lava Haji (in headscarf) holds a placard declaring her the Netherland's 2022 Student of the Year, May 2022. (Photo: Courtesy of Lava Haji)

Haji currently has a part-time job at an electronics company. She told Kurdistan 24, in an interview on Monday, that she hopes to establish her own business in the field in the future. 

The 11-year war in her country has displaced approximately 13 million Syrians. A significant number of those who fled the violent conflict emigrated to the West. 

Haji holds a five-year residency permit in the Netherlands and hopes to obtain citizenship eventually. 

When asked whether she intends to return to Syria after the conflict Haji did not hide her desire to continue living in the West, as she sees far more opportunities there. 

“I miss my country and village as I have been away from them for years,” she said.

Lava Haji (in headscarf) stands with instructors and members of the vocational training establishment after she's named the Netherland's 2022 Student of the Year, May 2022. (Photo: Courtesy of Lava Haji)
Lava Haji (in headscarf) stands with instructors and members of the vocational training establishment after she's named the Netherland's 2022 Student of the Year, May 2022. (Photo: Courtesy of Lava Haji)