Hengame Abassi is going back to college. She is non-traditional student: a student at the end of her 60s. Originally from Iran, Abassi was a nurse and reporter who had to flee political persecution while pregnant and lived in Germany for over 20 years before immigrating to the United States. She has hosted Iranian TV and radio shows in the U.S. and is currently a senior at CSUN, double majoring in linguistics and journalism. In “Going Back to College,” Hengame talks to other non-traditional students like herself.

In the first episode of “Going Back to College with Hengame Abassi,’’ Hengame talked to fellow Iranian American and classically-trained musician and multi-instrumentalist, Edris Foroughi.
Foroughi is currently a graduate student in the vocal arts program at CSUN’s music department and is the president of CSUN Iranian Student Association.

Foroughi, 35, went back to college because he did not pursue his passion for his first bachelor’s degree. He got a degree in accounting in Iran, as he thought a career in music would not be accepted in his home country.

Even after immigrating to the United States in 2014 and deciding to follow his musical dreams, Foroughi hesitated at first and enrolled in the computer engineering program, but dropped three weeks later.