Tamkinat Firoz was born in 1987 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She came to Boston at the age of 2 with her parents. She has been living in Boston for most of her life, and currently lives in West Roxbury. She is a member of the class of 2005 at Boston Latin School, and has been enrolled since the ninth grade.
At Boston Latin School, Tamkinat is involved in many school activities, each of which she enjoys profoundly. She is the President and Co-founder of the Desi Society, which is an Indian sub-continental organization that promotes Indian culture. This year, she and club members raised more than $350 to send to a nonprofit organization in India called ASHA by starting a penny drive in school. They have also had clothing drives for abused women shelters in Boston. Tamkinat is also the President of International Showcase. This is a yearly show that brings together faculty, student body, and family of Boston Latin School one night a year to experience the different cultural diversity that Boston Latin School represents. There are various performances including dances and skits by the students. Tamkinat has also performed for the International Showcase. She loves Indian dance and music and has not only performed for International Showcase, but also for Asian Night. Tamkinat has also been part of the Gospel for 3 years and loves to sing.
Tamkinat is also an active and devoted member of her Bangladeshi community. She gives speeches at AABEA (American Association of Bangladesh Engineers and Architects) to educate her community about new scientific and technological advances occurring in the world today. Some of Tamkinat’s hobbies include singing, dancing, cooking, and reading.
Tamkinat is looking forward to her senior year. Some of the classes that she plans to take are AP Government and AP Economics. Tamkinat is interested in several schools, some of which include Mt. Holyoke, Wellesley, Boston College, and Bowdoin College. Tamkinat has not yet decided what she would like to major in. However, she does know that whatever it is that she will do, it will include some form of public service.
Tamkinat applied for the John William Ward Fellowship to learn more about the government. She wanted to see the “inner workings” of politics. She is very much interested in state government and wants to experience it first hand. Tamkinat wants to share her experience with her fellow peers and community members. She thinks that teenagers her age are unaware of their rights and she wants them to know that they too can make a difference in their society. Tamkinat wants to share the knowledge that she will learn by being a Ward Fellow. Public service has been deeply embedded in her family from her grandfather who was the chief of Public Health in Bangladesh and many of her aunts and uncles who are doctors now. Tamkinat wants to follow in their footsteps and make a difference in her community.