Thomas More became my home

‘Khaska’ is what it says on her ID. ‘Haska’, she says herself. That ‘k’? It hitched a ride somewhere between Odessa and Brussels. In Pashto, her parents’ Afghan language, her name means ‘high’. It’s as if they already sensed back then how their daughter would approach life. Because how do you keep your eyes on the summit when you’re constantly being put back at the foot of the mountain? Haska knows. She was born in Ukraine, grew up in Dubai and ended up in Belgium because of the war. Starting over again and again, climbing again and again. Need a motivational speech? Read her story here. You’ll find yourself looking up automatically.

After an hour with Haska Said, you’d guess she’s twice her age. Yet she’s only 21. She talks about taking flight and falling, with a smile that lightens even the heaviest of stories. “I’m actually a very quiet person,” she says. Quiet? Perhaps. But what she says really resonates. She wants to keep learning, always and everywhere. That’s led her to the International Business & Trade programme at Thomas More, a course as international as her own journey. Today she works as a consultant at PwC, one of the world’s largest audit and consultancy firms. And she’s still climbing the ladder.

Learn, learn, learn

Her parents fled the Taliban 10 years before she was born. They built a new life in Odessa, a port city where Afghans, Vietnamese and Armenians also cross paths on the streets. That’s where Haska was born. She grew up in Dubai, until the family returned to Odessa when she was 12. “That was the hardest part. I was born there, I have a passport from there. But I’m not Ukrainian. I’m Afghan.”

Four years later, in the middle of her exams, war broke out. “My studies just came to a halt. Nobody knew what was going to happen.” For the second time, her family fled. In March 2022, Haska came to Belgium with her mum. Her dad stayed behind in Odessa.

Since then, she’s been on the phone to him every day. “He’s my biggest source of support. And he always answers,” she laughs. Yet the worry remains. “There’s always something inside me that says: I need to check if he’s still all right.” She no longer follows the news. “It hit me too hard. In the end, he was the one who had to tell me to stop watching.”

Even from afar, he remains her guide. Whenever she has doubts, she hears his voice, always saying the same three words: learn, learn and learn. “Every time I learn something new, I think of him. I have so many opportunities here. So I’m going to seize them.” And her biggest dream, ever since that first day in Belgium? “For the war to end. Back then, and still today.”

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Meant to be

As she doesn’t speak Dutch or French, she’s completing her secondary education at the British School of Brussels in Tervuren. She’s earning her diploma there, as well as her Ukrainian one. Her form tutor mentions Thomas More. And then everything falls into place. Her father is a businessman in the trade sector. “From a young age, he used to say: ‘You’re going to be a businesswoman.’ It’s ingrained in me.” An English-taught Bachelor’s degree in International Business & Trade, amongst students from all over the world: meant to be. “For me, an international outlook is the norm. And I knew: here I’ll learn so much that afterwards I can choose for myself what to do with my future.”

Still, her start wasn’t exactly smooth. She only managed to attend Friday’s events during the welcome week. The groups had already been formed, and the corridors were a maze. “But I wasn’t the only one who got lost.” And the food trucks did the rest. When you’re queuing together, you naturally strike up a conversation.

Don’t be afraid to ask

Her first semester at university felt tough. “I found it hard. Although nobody agreed with me,” she laughs. Looking back, that feeling made perfect sense. “I’d come from a war zone; everything changed all at once.” So the quiet Haska forced herself to speak up. One day, she put her hand up in class. “The whole class reacted: ‘Wow, good question!’ And I thought: ‘OK, cool.’ From then on, I started to ‘dare’.”

Tutors from the business world gave her a firm foundation. With Hans Thomas, she discovered her love of data, and using Power BI she helped develop the dashboards for the City of Mechelen. Later, she herself sits on the programme’s advisory board. Her message to students: “Dare to ask questions. It’s OK to be clever. It’s your life, not your neighbour’s.”

Pizza, patchwork and passion

And that quiet girl? In the programme’s many group projects, she’s always at the forefront. “I never asked for it. My groupmates pushed me into it.” There’s one evening she won’t forget in a hurry. In a student room, surrounded by pizza boxes and with just two days to go until the deadline. Seated round the table: Afghanistan, Ukraine, Morocco, Slovakia, Lithuania, India, Cameroon and Iraq. Together, they came up with a clothing brand featuring made-to-measure patchwork suits, full of Indian motifs. “Everyone from a different corner of the world, working together on a single project. That was an experience of a lifetime.” Even on a study trip to Budapest, the group worked as a single unit, delivering a pitch to a real company. Her secret to teamwork? “Communication! And: it has to come from the heart.”

(Read more below the photos)

Speech, speech!

At the graduation ceremony for Thomas More’s English-taught programmes, Haska was given the honour of delivering the speech. “We started out together, without knowing one another. And we left as a family. Thomas More became my home,” she said there. Because, for her, Belgium is, above all, about the people. “If you know people in a country, you can call it home. I have those friends thanks to Thomas More.” Her advice for hesitant eighteen-year-olds: “Be proactive, ask questions, give things a go. Even a small step is a step. And in the end, it’ll take you anywhere in the world. Yes, even literally.”

The youngest

Whilst still a student, she worked for two years as a student employee at PwC in Diegem. She then did an internship there. And when she was offered a full-time contract, she didn’t hesitate for a second. “I knew the office, the people. That felt like home too.” She is the youngest member of her international team. “And that’s why they’re always there for me.” But it works the other way round too: “I like helping people with their problems.” She speaks plenty of languages: Pashto, Dari, Russian, Ukrainian and flawless English – the language she even dreams in. Recently, a half-Afghan colleague who speaks a bit of Pashto joined the team. “I was so happy. That’s the language of home.”

Hardcore

At first, Belgium felt like another planet. “Everything was different. Public transport, the people, even what you talk about at the lunch table.” The way people communicate, too. “I’m used to saying what I think honestly and directly. Here, I encountered a different style of communication. That took some getting used to.” Haska adapts, as always. “I just need a bit of time. Then it’ll be fine.” Is she a bit of a Belgian now? “I always carry an umbrella with me,” she smiles. One got ruined during the last storm. “That’s when I realised: the weather here really is hardcore.”

Where does she get that resilience from? From a sense of purpose. “I can’t really call any country home. So I need something inside me that says: go for it. Because carrying on isn’t easy. It really isn’t.” She sees that same perseverance in the Ukrainians around her. “You’ve come from a war; you don’t know the language or the country. And yet you look for work and give it your all.” Or she goes for a swim, does some sport, or rings her friends. “Of course there are ups and downs. But I know the ups will come back.”

Haska. Meaning ‘high’, then. What’s in a name? Everything. With or without a ‘k’.

🧑🏽‍💻 Haska studied International Business Management
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