Farhana Jamil: Supermom: 'I Take Classes and Scramble to Do Homework'

Cooking, cleaning, working, mothering and going to graduate school are no easy tasks for just anyone. Some say that only a person with super qualities could do that. Someone like Supermom.

And that is exactly what Farhana Jamil, 36, is commonly referred to among her family and friends. Jamil, a George Mason University graduate student is studying information systems. She graduated with a Bachelors in management information systems from Mason in 2004 and currently works as a Software Engineer at Verizon.

Born in Peshawar, Pakistan, Jamil came to the United States when she was only 16 years old. From liquor stores to various fast food restaurants, Jamil labored hard to make a living.

“My first job in the states was for $2 per hour at a Californian liquor store,” said Jamil.

Jamil, who came to the United States with her parents and five siblings, did not have proper work authorization to work legally during the first year.

“It was hard at first to support our family of eight for my parents,” said Jamil. “I did the best I could to help them out as much as I could.”

Indeed, that is what Jamil did.

“She woke up for school at seven in the morning and didn’t get back until midnight because of work. She really helped us out,” said Shahana Jamil, Farhana’s mother.

Tired from all the struggle, Farhana and her family decided to move out of California.

Moving to Fairfax, Va. after five years of living in the Golden State, Jamil met her current husband, Tahir Awan.

It was love at first sight. “When I first saw her, I immedietly knew that she was special,” said Awan.

They got married a year later.

At 22, Jamil, who had been attending Northern Virginia Community College, was also pregnant with her first child.
“Full-time school, full-time work, full-time marriage and now a full-time baby on the way,” said Jamil, “I thought that I was going to go insane.”

However, Jamil did not go insane. Instead, she attended school during the days and worked on weekends at Dunkin Donuts. She would take her one year old daughter to class if it was necessary.

“I would always buy her a bag of chips to keep her quiet in class,” said Jamil, “I did what I had to.”

In the end, according to Jamil, all this “hard work paid off.”

Attending Mason is truly a dream come true for Jamil. She enjoys being back at school doing what she loves to do – learn.

“I take a class and scramble to do homework,” said Jamil. “[It] makes me feel young again.”

Currently, she lives in Gainesville, Va. with her long time husband of 13 years and her three kids. Telecommuting from home for Verizon, Jamil seems pretty content with her life.

“I wake up and I am at work two minutes later. I make lunch for the kids when they come home from school and spend time with my family for a little bit. Then I go to class at Mason,” said Jamil, “I am pretty happy.”