Nearly two years ago, I was sitting in a trailer at a military base in Wisconsin, helping a young Afghan man work on a personal statement for his asylum application. Three young women walked over to me and said hello. Although I had been there several weeks and knew most of the “guest volunteers” in the legal clinic, I didn’t recognize these women.

“We are going to be students at WVU,” they told me. “We are leaving tomorrow.” They explained that they had been students at Asian University for Women in Bangladesh and had been home in Kabul because of COVID when Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. Their university had quickly arranged for universities in the United States to accept them as students after resettlement here.

Becoming Community

Tonight, those young women stood before the Morgantown Rotary Clubs at Tropics restaurant in Cheat Lake and told their stories. Club members cheerfully welcomed them to the community and offered their support. Because the women don’t have the family financial support that many university students have, friends have created a Common Change account to help cover expenses like medical and dental care.

After the event, I saw friendly faces in the crowd: a retired colleague, a past state delegate, a former running buddy — all of whom welcomed the young women, invited them to other events, offered support through Common Change. Several people, including one who had himself arrived in Morgantown as an immigrant, described the community as welcoming and hospitable.

Finding Home

I moved to Morgantown 14 1/2 years ago. I spent mornings that first summer going to the gym and meeting people who shared my love for fitness, and afternoons gazing out my apartment window at forested hills that descended down to the Mon River.

Since then I’ve taught law classes, done fitness competitions, joined every running club in Appalachia, started a nonprofit bringing WVU students to Uganda, practiced and taught immigration law, fallen in love, gotten married, bought a historic house. I’ve walked or biked or run or ridden the bus all over town.

They say that social connection predicts longevity better than diet, exercise, genetics, or any other factor. When I feel the Morgantown community around me, I believe I may live to be 100. I hope these young Afghan women remain part of our community too. (They’ll only be 70 then, so I’ll need then to give me rides around town.)

Country roads …