Iranian student aspires to be cartoonist
Artist, swimmer and aspiring cartoonist Neda Ghoroghi was shocked she was even able to obtain a
United States visa.
The Iranian graduate student spent six months of “hanging out in the U.S.,” where she visited art museums in New York City and eventually picked up a copy of The New Yorker at Barnes and Noble.
When she flipped through pages of illustrations, she saw potential for her career. With a unique art style and a positive attitude, Ghoroghi began drawing cartoons and now aspires to one day draw for The New Yorker.
When Ghoroghi lived in Mount Pleasant during the summer, she felt like there wasn't much to do, and decided to visit local coffee shops and ask about displaying her artwork. She was nervous about how the owners would react, but during her second year at Central Michigan University, she has displayed her work at Pleasant City Coffee. The sports management major also practices swimming almost every day to prepare for a swim club competition in November.
Ghoroghi draws characters, one of her favorites being a man with a red mustache.
As a child, she seemed to have a natural ability for art, and so did her three brothers. In middle school, her second brother bought a Shel Silverstein book translated to Persian and she created her own illustrations based on interpretations of the poems.
Ghoroghi's brother introduced her to musical artists Elton John, and as the songs played, she let her imagination roam. Though she liked to draw, her parents pushed her to study mathematics or chemistry.
Though she performed well in math and science, Ghoroghi felt she didn’t belong in the program and explored art museums in Tehran, Iran.
Her brothers all studied math and she wanted to do something different. Her father supported the decision to switch to studying art, but her mother still disapproved.
“That was a tough time for me because my mom was so angry,” the artist said. “When I started art school, I had no idea what I had to do because I was new to the field. All the students were so professional.”
After she completed her first year, one of Ghoroghi's teachers assured her mother that Ghoroghi could succeed at art.
She focused on illustrating, and though she was intimidated at first, she grew tremendously in the first few months.
Her all-girls religious university was strict, Ghoroghi said, but the art department was different. She felt a sense of freedom, sitting among classmates who wore bright colors and created calligraphy, photography, cartoons and logos. She was inspired by one of her professors who helped her find her own drawing style. As she discovered more about her artistic style, she started following the work of cartoonists from The New Yorker.
At 23, Ghoroghi had the opportunity to travel to the U.S. and had no idea her family would be able to get U.S. visas; they applied in Syria in 2010 because Iran doesn't have a U.S. embassy.
“This was like a miracle for us because you have to be in the situation to understand how difficult it is (to obtain a visa),” she said.
To her, being in the U.S. is “like a dream.”
“Being in New York, seeing Times Square, being in Manhattan was just, wow,” the graduate student said.
Ghoroghi stayed for six months. After returning to Iran, she had to choose between her two interests: art and sports.
She chose to get a job in sports, working in international affairs at the Iran Amateur Swimming Federation, but she knew that she could still keep doing both. To increase her chances of getting a job, she chose to study sports management over art when she returned to the U.S., she said.
After applying to a few U.S. universities, she ended up at CMU in September 2014, a week late because her visa was delayed.
Ghoroghi said she’s glad she’s at CMU because of how friendly the people are.
“Everyone here works as a team,” she said. “Everyone supports each other no matter your major or where you’re from. That’s amazing.”
She said American students are understanding and respectful, and professors are more accessible than they were at her university in Iran. She's happy she grew up in Iran, but also happy she's now in Mount Pleasant.
Ghoroghi started swimming at a young age after discovering she didn't like gymnastics. Later, though, a lifeguard pointed out her talent for swimming and when she had the opportunity to compete in a school competition at age 10, she won. Ghoroghi has been swimming since then, and worked with two professional coaches at her job.
People always ask Ghoroghi what the connection is between art and sports, she said, but she believes that with her passion and ability, she can succeed at both.
One of the pieces of artwork she’s most proud of is currently displayed at Pleasant City Coffee, a place that she sees as "cozy and full of ideas." Ghoroghi aspires to continue displaying her work, and hopefully displaying work from her country, which she thinks would be more interesting to people here.
“I’m so free when I’m drawing,” she said. “I can do whatever I want on the paper, different ways, different materials I can use. Nowadays especially, it helps me deal with stress from studying. I like it. I like those sudden moments.”
