Education and Nursing Students Bond in Women鈥檚 Running Group
Image by Courtesy
02/24/2021
By Katharine Webster
Last spring, after COVID-19 shut down the campus, education Ph.D. student Sharifa Djurabaeva was feeling isolated. She had finished all of her classes and was starting the long, hard solo work of completing her dissertation.
鈥淚 was getting so frustrated just sitting in one room,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 also wanted to socialize.鈥�
She moved from Lowell to North Andover, Massachusetts, in June. She runs to stay fit, and she wanted to meet people safely outdoors, so she went online to look for running groups. She found the local chapter of , a network of running groups for women of any ability, named for the bib number of the first woman to officially run in the Boston Marathon: Kathrine Switzer, in 1967.
Djurabaeva felt welcomed from the first Friday she showed up at the North Andover Common to run 鈥� especially by Pamela Fallon, a Ph.D. student in the Solomont School of Nursing. Fallon says she was beyond surprised when Djurabaeva introduced herself to the group.
鈥淔inding another Ph.D. student at the same university who also liked running at 6 a.m. was like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was a 鈥榃ow!鈥� moment.鈥�
Fallon, who competes in races but mostly runs to stay healthy, had joined 261 Fearless in January 2020 because she liked its mission of connecting women from all walks of life: moms, working women and students.
Fallon is all three. She鈥檚 a nurse practitioner working in employee wellness at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, a Ph.D. student focusing on health promotion, and mother of three girls.
She and Djurabaeva quickly bonded, and soon they were running together much of the time. When they discovered they ran at roughly the same pace, they added a Wednesday morning run, just the two of them.
鈥淪harifa says she鈥檚 not a good runner, but she鈥檚 really a very good runner,鈥� Fallon says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing well for this time, during COVID, just to get out there and keep moving.鈥�
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Fallon says that during their runs, Djurabaeva told her about how the break-up of the Soviet Union affected her and her country, and how she ended up coming to the United States for two master鈥檚 degrees and a Ph.D. Djurabaeva is doing her dissertation on changes in teaching in Uzbekistan as it transitioned from socialism to a free market economy.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a wonderful storyteller,鈥� Fallon says. 鈥淭he miles go by, and I鈥檝e had a history lesson and a cultural lesson.鈥�
Djurabaeva says Fallon, who grew up in the area, seems to know everyone they run into early in the morning 鈥� including Fallon鈥檚 husband, who runs with different people. And on Wednesday, she gets to explore new areas as they run, with Fallon as her guide.
鈥淚鈥檓 fascinated by the nature around here that I haven鈥檛 seen,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ecause I鈥檇 been busy with my classes and living in Lowell, I hadn鈥檛 been able to get out of the university zone. Once I got out, I felt the area was extremely beautiful. There are a lot of trees and trails around here.鈥�
Both say it鈥檚 really helpful to talk to each other about their teaching and research, especially as both are now fifth-year students working on their dissertations.
Fallon is working with Asst. Prof. and Associate Chair of Nursing Mazen El Ghaziri on a project aimed at promoting better working conditions for correctional officers, with a focus on peer support. Djurabaeva is doing qualitative research, advised by Education Prof. A.J. Angulo, on teaching conditions in Uzbekistan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to find someone who understands the hours of research and writing it takes to complete a Ph.D.,鈥� Fallon says. 鈥淲e have also talked about how to engage students, especially when teaching through Zoom.鈥�
Djurabaeva is teaching a course to undergraduates and master鈥檚 students on educating multilingual students, while Fallon is an adjunct instructor, teaching health assessment to sophomore nursing students.
Fallon says that they talk to other people on their Friday runs, too, and always try to welcome new runners.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the socialization comes in,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where you meet other people. That鈥檚 the heart of why I keep coming back.鈥�
Djurabaeva, who previously earned master鈥檚 degrees at the University of Nebraska in Omaha and Ball State University in Indiana, says the group has helped her feel like part of a community. She鈥檚 encouraging a couple of other international graduate students to join 261 Fearless.
鈥淧eople are local here, and I鈥檝e been missing that, because most of the time I鈥檝e been in places where people come and go,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t feels like home here: People know people here.鈥�
Because of the pandemic, the women haven鈥檛 met aside from their running dates and a couple of outdoor club events, although they hope to, once the weather warms up.
In the meantime, they鈥檒l keep showing up for the group, for themselves 鈥� and for each other.
鈥淗aving that time and knowing that Sharifa is going to be there gets me up at 5 a.m. so I can have a cup of coffee before running,鈥� Fallon says. 鈥淚 feel committed to her.鈥�
