Malika Umarova: The Uzbekistani dentist

As a girl growing up in Uzbekistan – a country where unmarried women rarely travel abroad – Malika Umarova dreamed of getting a world class education and then returning to her home country to improve public health. Umarova is a 24-year-old first year graduate student in the Muskie School Health Policy and Management master’s degree program.

Umarova graduated with a master’s degree in dentistry from the Tashkent Medical Academy in?Uzbekistan in 2009. She began working as a dentist at a private clinic when she decided to apply for a fellowship to pursue a career in public health. “At the end of my studies I realized that I didn’t want just to sit in one cubicle and treat teeth, because I knew I could do more for my country,” she said.

Umarova had to learn English to apply for a fellowship, so she quit her job and spent two intensive months in the American Embassy library preparing for the international entrance exams. After passing her exams, she applied for several fellowships in the US. She found out that she was coming to USM only one week before her required arrival date. Umarova packed her bags and flew halfway across the world to begin her new life as a member of the USM community.?

Umarova came to USM not for personal advancement but with a strong desire to return to Uzbekistan and serve the medical needs of her country. She said she wanted to be involved in public health programs and incorporate health education into the Uzbek education system. Umarova also hopes to educate around maternal health and HIV AIDS when she completes her two years at USM.

Her journey from Tashkent to Maine has been a very difficult adjustment. She had never lived apart from her family and after moving to the US, she soon found her English needed a lot of work. The professors and staff at USM were very inviting and friendly as they helped Umarova improve her writing skills.

“When you are far from your family, friends, relatives, from your usual lifestyle, every smile, every answer for your question, every intention to help you is so important,” said Umarova.

The Multicultural center at USM opened doors for Umarova’s social life at USM. “I have studies in the evening and all my classmates are usually older than me and they are not interested in university’s social life,” she said. “And it has influenced me too. Thank god I have a Multicultural Center.” Umarova said she feels like a member of the Muskie School community but is disconnected from the larger USM community. Life in Portland without a car has left her feeling more isolated than in Tashkent where cheap public transportation provides access to a milieu of locations. “I can’t afford buying a car, and public transportation is not as developed as it is in our country,” she said.

Umarova said that the Muskie School’s emphasis on writing, composition and analysis was a difficult adjustment for her but she said that she’s excited to learn new things every day.? Umarova came to USM expecting that students would act formally in class like in Uzbekistan but found to her surprise that higher education in the United States is more informal. “In our country you are not allowed to eat or drink in class, or even just get up and go to the bathroom,” Umarova said. “You need to ask a professor’s permission to leave the room and men should wear a suit. Casual looking garments are not allowed for both men and women. So, the education system was new for me.”

She hopes that this learning will help her make a big difference in Uzbekistan and said she hopes to implement dental hygiene education programs in Uzbek schools. In her remaining one and a half years at USM she plans to travel the States and learn more about American Culture before she returns to dedicate herself to the health of her country.