Modhurima Amin and Syed Badruddoza followed a similar journey from Bangladesh to Texas Tech University and became friends, colleagues, and spouses along the way.

Amin and Badruddoza both went to the University of Dhaka in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for their undergraduate and master’s degrees but never met one another.

Amin was accepted to Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, for a second master’s in economics. She posted her achievement on Facebook where Badruddoza commented on her post and told her he had been accepted there too. She said, “she had no clue who he was.”

When Amin first met Badruddoza, she said he was wearing an old Polo-style shirt and bell bottom jeans, so she decided to ignore him. Over time, they started doing homework together and became best friends. After finishing their degrees at ISU, they each decided to pursue doctoral degrees, and both ended up at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.

“The bottom line is: She followed Texas Tech and I followed her,”

Syed BadruddozA

“So, we went to Washington State and, coincidentally, we also had our offices together,” Amin said.            

They began dating at WSU, which ultimately helped them get through late nights scrambling to solve problems. They helped one another through homesickness by getting to speak their native language, Bengali.

“I don’t think it would have been as much fun if I had not met him,” Amin said.

Both Amin and Badruddoza finished their doctoral degrees and entered the workplace during the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. They were in Seattle when the first COVID case was detected. They were looking for a place to hire them both so they could stay together.

After Amin interviewed with Texas Tech, she took the job in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and Texas Tech offered Badruddoza a job in the department as well. They have been in Lubbock since the height of the pandemic, and both said that they love the college, department, and people.

“The bottom line is: She followed Texas Tech and I followed her,” Badruddoza said.