A Brooks Hill Elementary School student’s extraordinary life story spans years and crosses continents and oceans – and is now available as an illustrated book. Sahar Ghulami came to the United States from Afghanistan when she was six. The Brooks Hill student is now in fifth grade, and she’s ready to tell her story. 

Sahar, with the help of Kaitlin Graniero, one of the District’s English as a New Language (ENL) teachers, has written and illustrated My Story About Afghanistan, which tells the story of Sahar and her family traveling from their homeland as refugees to the United States.

Sahar said that she always wanted to tell her story to help change people’s minds about refugees; she said she has encountered people who have misconceptions about people from other countries, and she wants to set the story straight. 

“It’s about me, and my adventure of coming to America, and the struggle, the pros and cons of coming here. And it’s about assumptions, about Afghanistan and America, and the differences,” said Sahar.

Sahar enrolled in the Fairport CSD at Brooks Hill School in 2018. Graniero has worked with Sahar since February 2021 to edit and publish her book, which Sahar wrote and illustrated as a fully remote student before returning to in-person classes this spring. 

“This [book] took a lot of dedication and perseverance on her end and I am so proud of her, and to see the kind of project that we’ve come up with,” said Graniero.

Sahar held a book signing, June 10, for Brooks Hill staff who had pre-ordered copies of her book. Books are still available to order through Student Treasures – you can go to studentreasures.com/OrderCopies and use the PIN 7150803. Please note, Fairport CSD and the author do not profit from the sale of the book.