The Arrow's "Museum of Me"

Nur-E-Afra Anika is a senior double majoring in physics and engineering physics, focusing on electrical applications. Anika is a member of the student government executive board, serving as the diversity and inclusion chair. Here is a closer look into her life and the three items that define what she lives for.  (Photo submitted by Nur-E-Afra Anika)

Anika’s Bangladesh passport Anika is from Bangladesh, and if anything were to ever happen, her passport is the one thing she needs to get back home. “If you are in a house and a fire alarm goes off, what is the one thing you will grab?” Anika asked. “I live in Towers East, and every time we had a fire alarm go off, I would grab my passport and run.”Anika moved to the United States in the fall of 2018 to complete her undergraduate degree and be with her extended family. Her passport connects her to her roots, and it reminds her where she is from. “I am very proud of my country. I am very proud to be a Bangladeshi,” Anika said. “And this passport connects me to my home.” (Photo by Allison Lauter)

Anika’s mother’s sareeA saree is a traditional Bangladesh piece of clothing you can drape across your body or fold between dinner plates for presentation, Anika said. It makes a beautiful outfit, and the saree is Anika’s favorite thing to wear. This saree belongs to Anika’s mother. “This is my favorite saree of hers,” Anika said. “I grew up watching her wear this so many times, and every time I would see her wearing it, I would just look at her in awe. She looks so beautiful.”Anika’s mother is her best friend, so when she moved to the United States, she asked her mother if she could bring this saree with her. Anika keeps it in her bag most times, and when she misses her mother, she hugs the saree and wraps herself in it to keep her mother close.  (Photo by Allison Lauter)

Anika’s Quran Anika’s parents and her family are religious, and faith has always been very important to her. “I’m sure that everyone can agree that Covid has been very hard,” Anika said. “When Covid started in 2020, my parents got sick that summer. My parents getting sick was really upsetting for me. I’m their only child, so there was nobody back home to take care of them, and I felt so bad that I couldn’t be there with them.”Being so far away from her family was upsetting for Anika but her faith is what pushed her through. Anika is a Muslim, and the Quran is her holy book.“I would read verses out of my Quran, and that is what got me through the hardest time in my life,” Anika said. In the Quran, verse 55:13, it asks, “Which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?”There was one day when Anika was reading this verse with her extended family here in the United States, and this time reading it hit her differently.Anika understood this was a hard time of her life, but she could get through it because there are so many favors Allah has done for her she cannot deny. (Photo by Allison Lauter)

Anika’s three most valuable itemsWhen thinking of the items to show, Anika was worried she may be too personal or emotional with her items. However, once she thought more about it, she realized these are the items that define her. “This is who I am. My country is where I am from. My family is who brought me life. And my faith is what guides me through it,” Anika said. “It completes me. (Photo by Allison Lauter)