The Barometer Online

Issue date: 10/22/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Peter Strong Junior Najma Homidi leads the Oregon State women's soccer team with four goals on the season. Homidi aspires to become a brain surgeon when her playing days are behind her.

Sometimes the best thing parents can do for their family ends up being the toughest, something that Mukhtar and Nasima Homidi realized one night in the 1980s, as the Soviet Union occupied their home country of Afghanistan. With over 100,000 Soviet troops occupying Afghanistan, the Homidi family packed up what they could and took off for the United States in the middle of the night, not telling friends where they were going, and started a new life.

"It was really rough," Beavers junior midfielder Najma Homidi said. "My parents were rather well-off in Afghanistan, and they had to leave in the middle of the night, pack up what they could. They couldn't tell anybody, not their best friends, just their immediate family. They took a boat to Pakistan, then came to the United States."

Her father, Mukhtar, a professor in Afghanistan, was in contact with a fellow professor from Montana. After corresponding with him and attempting to find a place to stay, the unnamed professor helped the Homidi family bring their hopes and dreams to the United States; they eventually ended up in Fremont, California.

"They came here with absolutely nothing," Najma said. "My dad had to get three jobs, and my mom had three kids at the time, I was not born yet. Imagine treating a family with three kids, two parents and nothing."

Nowadays, Homidi is a key centerpiece for the Oregon State women's soccer squad, leading the Beavers in scoring with nine points and two game winning goals, which came against Utah and Utah State in the early stages of this season. Prior to coming to Oregon State, Homidi led Washington High School (Fremont, Calif.) with 74 goals in 48 games. She was an all league pick for all four years of her high school career, and led the league in scoring three of those four years, all while graduating in the top 10 percentile of her graduating class.

At the beginning of the season, Beavers head coach Linus Rhode named Homidi co-team captain alongside friend and teammate Red Nixon. The leadership role is nothing new for the Junior, as she was named league player of the year three of her four years in high school, and led WHS to four straight league titles. While her success in high school hasn't exactly translated to the college pitch, Homidi still remains optimistic, as the Beavers are a tremendously young team.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools