Woman sitting in a field.
Latifa Salangi during her field work.

From Afghanistan to MSU and GCUA 2030

Page reviewed:  23/01/2026

In this reflection, GCUA 2030 student Latifa Salangi shares her powerful academic and personal journey from Afghanistan to MSU, illustrating how GCUA's Agenda 2030 course has helped her connect the SDGs to lived experience, responsibility, and the realities of inequality, conflict, and resilience.

Taking the Agenda 2030 course within the GCUA 2030 network has helped me shift from viewing the Sustainable Development Goals as abstract global commitments to understanding them as tangible, local responsibilities in communities like mine. The class challenged me to relate broad policy frameworks to everyday trade-offs, especially regarding inequality, conflict, and sustainability.

In my assignments, I tried to use the tools and concepts from the course to reflect on my own research interests and experiences. I often used examples from Afghanistan and from my current work at Michigan State University (MSU) to explore how institutions, aid, and local governance can either support or hinder progress toward the SDGs. This made the exercises feel less like ‘homework’ and more like a space to test ideas that matter for my future work as a development practitioner.

Woman standing in front of poster
Latifa Salangi at a conference in US

Coming to MSU from Afghanistan has been both a personal and academic journey. Leaving my home country in a context marked by conflict and uncertainty and then entering a university environment with so many resources and opportunities has made me very aware of global inequalities, but also of the possibilities for change. 

Within GCUA’s Agenda 2030 course, I felt that my background was not just something I carried with me, but something I could actively use. I am grateful that the course created room for us to bring in our own research interests. 

My journey from Afghanistan to MSU has been a remarkable yet challenging experience. I was affiliated with MSU and USAID through a project called GRAIN Research and Innovation, which aimed to support researchers in wheat-related studies. I was fortunate to receive a scholarship that allowed me to start my Master's degree in the Agronomy department at Kabul University alongside 14 other scholars, beginning in late 2019.

Unfortunately, during my final semester, after collecting data and conducting fieldwork, Afghanistan fell under the new regime in 2021. Since I was supported by USAID, my safety was at risk, and I had to leave the country to protect my life and continue my education. On August 27, 2021, with the help of MSU and USAID, I, along with other GRAIN scholars and staff, left Afghanistan. This journey was anything but ordinary; we spent 24 hours outside the Kabul airport, fearing for our lives. Even once inside the airport, we faced danger when two explosions occurred. Those moments are etched in my memory; the fear, hopelessness, and pain of leaving my family and homeland remain vivid.