In August 2021, Neilab Osman filed her first humanitarian visa for a family member living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. She has since filed 16 visas for loved ones, interned for the Australian Human Rights Commission, was a student ambassador for the Macquarie University Widening Participation and continues to help newly arrived Afghan refugee students settle into school – all while completing her undergraduate and now postgraduate studies at Macquarie.

“I started my undergraduate degree in 2019 but quickly realised what I had chosen wasn’t for me. I ended up changing degrees three times before I moved into a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology, Media, Culture and Communication) and found my passion – now I just want to help people and make a difference.”

As the first in her family to attend university, Neilab wanted to embrace every opportunity that came with higher education. As she excelled through her studies, she was presented with a rare opportunity to intern with the Australian Human Rights Commission and recently won the 2022 Judyth Sachs PACE Faculty Student Prize for her outstanding contribution.

“I applied as a Policy and Research Intern for the Children’s Department in the Australian Human Rights Commission, working on a report investigating the impact of COVID-19 on children’s mental health. I knew this was a competitive internship with over 6000 applicants, so I was thrilled to have been selected.”

Since then, Neilab has explored an array of opportunities at Macquarie, including Macquarie University Widening Participation and the Indigenous Tutorial Assistance Program. Most of these roles, according to Neilab, came from just asking questions.

“Curiosity opens so many doors. Many of the programs I volunteered or worked for at Macquarie came from an e-mail or conversation with someone. I recall having a very general conversation with one of my lecturers about my course one day. That conversation led to us co-authoring a paper exploring the experiences of newly arrived Afghan refugee children in education.”

As Neilab continued her studies, she began working for the NSW Department of Education, helping newly arrived Afghan refugee minors settle into school in Australia. At the same time, however, the crisis in Kabul was escalating and her family desperately needed her help.

“I had 16 family members living in Kabul when the Taliban regained control of the city in 2021. Many of them worked in law, social impact or humanitarian roles and desperately needed to flee to somewhere safe. I remember one of my cousins asking if she should burn her degree in law and political science, fearing it would cost her life.”

Since then, Neilab has filed more than a dozen of humanitarian visas for her family – a process that she says is long, expensive and confusing.

“In my opinion, the humanitarian visa application process ironically feels inhumane. It requires a lot of documentation which many people who have been at war simply do not have. The red tape associated with the process was overwhelming, and I’ve spent countless hours advocating to MPs over the bureaucratic process.”

After six or so months, Neilab was able to raise enough money to relocate her family to Pakistan as they continue to wait for visa processing – almost two years after filing the very first one. Since then she continues to receive messages from strangers online begging for her help and assistance with their own applications. It’s these messages that continue to drive her desire to make a difference and believes her Master of Public and Social Policy can help her do just that.

“I never want to be detached from people and their experiences. I hope my studies, professional and personal experience and volunteering roles will all continue to work hand in hand to help others and make a social impact.”