A political science major and refugee from Afghanistan warned her fellow participants at the College of Letters and Science's commencement ceremonies that their "sleepless nights are not over yet."

"We cannot afford to just sit back and relax," said Qudsia Bekeran, the student speaker at the June 14 event. "There are still challenges waiting ahead that will require even greater attention and devotion, and it is the knowledge and maturity that we gain here from UCLA that will help us open more doors of success."

Bekeran, who was selected for the honor in open competition, distinguished herself at UCLA as a women's rights activist, high school tutor and congressional intern. Meanwhile, she grappled with the aftermath of an abusive arranged marriage and cared for her aging mother with Parkinson's disease. Since Sept. 11, a Pasadena-based charity that raises money for Afghan schools and hospitals has selected Bekeran as its spokesperson.

Qudsia Bekeran was selected to be the student speaker at the College Commencement ceremonies June 14.

A naturalized American citizen, Bekeran vowed to return after graduation to her native land "to work for better treatment of Afghan women."

"This battle is especially important for a woman such as me who had to free herself from an abusive marriage," she told a crowd of approximately 10,500 in Pauley Pavilion.

Bekeran transferred to UCLA from El Camino College six years after her family won political asylum. A politically active family with ties to Afghanistan's royal family, the Bekerans opposed Soviet occupation and eventually fled the country for Pakistan.

"For some people, today might be just a regular day, but that is not the case with me," Bekeran said. "When I ran with my mother fleeing the country toward Pakistan, as we tripped in the snow over dead bodies and skeletons of the war victims, I longed for a day such as [today]."