Nazanin Ghoddousi: Reciprocal Mentorship
Meet Nazanin, an ICU nurse and Persian immigrant with a love for rock climbing, nordic skiing, and creating equity-focused spaces and the recipient of our 2022 AWE x Shasta II Summit Scholarship. At the time of writing, Nazanin is only a few days away from traveling to Shasta, CA, to join AWExpeditions and Shasta Mountain Guides for a week long intermediate mountaineering seminar on Mt Shasta.
Hello! My name is Nazanin. I’m a proud Persian-Turkic first generation immigrant women from the Northern region of Iran- East Azerbaijan province. I’m a CVICU nurse, Persian poetry lover, mentor/mentee, life long learner, and novice organizer for POC NORDIC - helping folks from underrepresented backgrounds in snow sports get on skis, usually for their first time. I love sharing my interests with others. I’m a firm believer that anyone can accomplish just about anything if given equal opportunity.’
We caught up with Nazanin after she learned that she was one of the 2022 Summit Scholarship Recipients.
What did you do right after finding out that you received the scholarship?
Jumped up and down with joy, fear, excitement, happiness. I went outside for a walk and reflected on all the things I’ve experienced this year. I felt immense gratitude for the community I have helped build and surround myself with. These are the folks that have encouraged me to apply for scholarships like the Summit Scholarship.
What excites you most about that particular Summit Scholarship?
Getting outside with a group of rad humans that appreciate the mentor-mentee relationship as reciprocal and non hierarchal. I am excited to try something challenging that will push me both physically and mentally with a supportive group of people I already know I will make community with.
The Summit Scholarship will give me the chance to become a better and more experienced mountaineer. I plan to use this experience to share my knowledge with other women interested in mountaineering. I have heard from many the similar barriers they experience and I would like to mitigate some of those challenges to the best of my ability. I am hoping that this experience will provide clarity in terms of officially pursuing my mountain guide certification. I will be working on my rock guide certification the next 2 years and have had hesitations when it comes to alpine mountaineering certification because of my lack of experience.
What do you think is going to be the most challenging aspect of your Summit Scholarship adventure?
This year I think it is going to be pushing through pain. I have had chronic pain since October and it has been one of the most challenging things I have personally gone through. I am cleared to do most activities but the pain continues and likes to pop up at the most inconvenient times. I think the challenge is going to be gauging when I can push it and when I might have to turn around.
Nazanin - we’re honored to be part of your journey and can’t wait to see you on Mount Shasta! To follow along, find Nazanin on Instagram at @nazinazkhon or follow our sister organization AWExpeditions on Instagram or Facebook.