BoG Stories

Every month a different member of the Board of Governors is asked to contribute to our Triangle newsletter. This month Imran Ahmed ’02 shares his Bard story.

I first watched Scent of a Woman in early 1997 with friends in Dhaka, Bangladesh. That was when I came across the name “Baird.” It did not take long for me to realize that while Baird was a fictional school, Bard College was very real. The more I learned about Bard, the more I became fascinated by the idea of a liberal arts education. My parents did not share this enthusiasm, but I made my case in my application letter and requested a scholarship. To my delight, I was accepted as a Distinguished Scientist Scholar. 

Thus, in the fall of 1998, I set off for Bard; an eighteen-ish year old from a conservative country stepping into one of the most liberal colleges in the world. It proved to be a life-transforming decision. Before long, I was debating the nature of big T (Truth) in the Language and Thinking workshop during the day, singing songs from around the globe in the evenings, while engaging in spirited conversations about the meaning of freedom and liberty in different parts of the world. It was remarkable to think that I had never traveled alone outside Dhaka, let alone beyond Bangladesh, as the remarkable Bard community pushed the limits of my comfort zone. 

By the time I was a sophomore I found myself becoming a Peer Counselor and was serving as President of both the International Student Organization (ISO) and the Muslim Student Organization (MSO). I was elected as the Treasurer of the Student Government, by junior year while also being part of the extraordinary Emergency Medical Service (EMS) team. Among the honors I received, the General Welfare Award remains one of the most cherished moments of my life.

As I reflected during my commencement speech in 2002, Bard was a beautiful bubble—one that made me feel safe, encouraged me to grow, taught me to respect differing opinions, and gave me the confidence to reach for the stars. This bubble shielded me, a young Bangladeshi Muslim, from the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy and provided the space to create Bard’s first interfaith co-space, where Muslim and Jewish students could cook and pray together.

I remain convinced that the remarkable environment President Botstein and the faculty have cultivated at Bard over the last fifty years is needed now more than ever. It is with this conviction that I have joined the Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors, lending my support to Bard’s mission to inspire curiosity, foster a love of learning, nurture idealism, and strengthen the vital link between higher education and civic participation.

Imran Ahmed ’02
Deputy Executive Director, Shakti Foundation
Board of Governors Member since 2025