My name isn’t Mubarrat

Well, it is my government name, but no one calls me that! Not even my grandmother who gave it to me. I’m Mahin.

Ma, Baba, and I in Bangladesh

It all started in Bangladesh. I was born in a city called Rajshahi on the Padma river, it’s where my dad is from. His parents were both medical doctors. My Mother’s Father was an engineer, and her mother a writer. My Father was 3rd among 4 sons, and my Mother has 1 sister and 3 brothers.

I say all that to show, that Bangladesh when my parents were young, was very impoverished and had just come out of a revolution. Yet still, people willed to not only survive but thrive, seek independence, and prosper in a world of uncertainty

I spent the first 5 years of my life in the capital Dhaka. The first of the many privileges I have been thankfully blessed with, would be the direct family visa that we got to the United States.

Parsons Boulavard Subway Station, From wikimedia-commons

I was at this train station almost every day, for 15 years straight

I guess we chose New York City because we had family there. Like many immigrants, we moved into a basement. After about a year, we moved to Jamaica Queens, where we spent the next 18 years. Jamaica is now called little Bangladesh. That’s probably why we moved there in the first place.

New York is simple in some ways, Jamaica being no exception. Imagine 4 parallel avenues Highland, Hillside, Jamaica and Archer running east to west. The streets cross them, perfectly perpendicular, running from the 100’s to the 200’s.

The demographics and economics followed these lines just as well. Going south of Archer avenue meant looking over your shoulder and your mom being worried. It was home to the likes of 50-cent and Nicki Minaj. The names hillside and highland are clearly referring to the geography, as you go north the slope increases sharply.

A lot like the elevation, house prices also go up as you get towards highland avenue. The current president of United States, Donald Trump, is also from Queens, although the neighborhood name changes from Jamaica to Jamaica-Estates.

We lived right in between. Between the estates up the hill, that teased you of the American dream, and the “ghetto hood” of south Jamaica. In between cultures.

At home, with my parents and family, I spoke Bangla. I had to learn slang to not get roasted for being brown, but also had to speak English properly to finally get out of ESL class. I think this dichotomy, these two worlds I always grew up with, has left a lasting impression on me.

Brooklyn Technical High School, From wikimedia-commons

The high school I went to. It’s one of the “specialized”, meaning you had to take a test to get in.

As you can see it’s very large, it has about 6000 students and 1000 staff members.

The stereotype goes that to Asian parents, the only good grade is perfection 4.0, A+. Everything else is bad. It was clear that coming to America was an opportunity, mostly for me. My parents are educated, they gave up good jobs just for a dream.

I’m sure that dream is sold to everyone at some point. I liked school, it was fun. What I remember being hard, at that young age, was like staying in after school as long as possible because Dad got off work at 5 and could only pick me up at 6. Then we would get my mom who would be finishing her 10 hour shift.

I liked science from a really young age. First experiment was throwing toys down a staircase to study the effects of gravity. When I was 12 or so I got into microbiology because of a microscope obsession (a story for some other time I’m sure).

From then on, it only progressed, like the symptoms of a disease, following a track towards fundamental answers. I went from microbiology to chemistry. By the time I was in high school, I was sure, and since then I have been a physicist.

The Max Planck School Matter to Life

Heilbronn, Spring Days 2025

It would be foolish to think that curiosity is proportional to academic success. If anything my grades got worse as I went further into academia. This brings me to another privileged I have been blessed with, definitely the biggest, I have caring parents. My mom and dad didn’t force me into the Asian academic triangle of disappointment. Doctor lawyer or engineer, otherwise you have brought shame to our 40 generations.

They supported me in what ever I wanted to study, guided my curiosity to explore, and supported me in making hard choices. They gave me the courage to continue to follow my passion, even when everything seemed wrong. They cheered me on every minuscule success, and excused my biggest blunders. Most importantly, they instilled the culture and values they learned, while adapting to not only America, but also the age of information.

Anyway, so how did I make it this far? The final blessing I have received in my life is the wealth of the people in my life. I have a brilliant network of friends, who are like my siblings. I have family all across the world, and only some of them are of blood relation. I have had the greatest and most inspiring teachers and mentors, not privately paid for, but from my public school education. The common string among all these people is that they are all very smart. Not because they know a lot of science, or because they are well educated, but rather because they know that we are stronger together. They have empathy. They are altruistic.

I know I have just started my journey. The Max Planck School Matter to Life has been another great privilege in my life. But regardless of any outcome, I hope I have shown you what kind of person I am. I’m Mahin Mursalin, I want to use the privileges I've been given to help better the world.

I have seen the world, lived in three continents. I’ve seen children huffing glue from a bag in Bangladesh, glue that they got from the factory they work in. I remember walking to PS86 in Queens, holding my moms hand as we walk past the man who overdosed on the school block. But I’ve also seen the beauty of life on this planet. I have studied it. I have seen people, from all over the world, united under a banner of humanity. Like my forefather, I will not stop chasing my dreams. No matter what I know I will die trying.