When Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzaiappeared before Congress Wednesday, he gave a special shout-out to Ohio.

Specifically, talking about women’s rights in the nation, he mentioned Khatera Afghan, a young lady from Kandahar who went to school despite receiving threats of disfigurement by her neighbors and threats of disownment form her uncle.

The girl eventually went to the American University of Afghanistan, then, aided by a Fulbright scholarship, went on to get her master’s degree from the Ohio State University.

UPDATE: An Ohio University professor emailed to report - and the registrar's office confirmed - that Afghan actually graduated from Ohio University, in Athens.

“Today, Khatera’s formerly angry uncle is so proud of her that he tells his grandchildren, both little boys and little girls, that they must all be as brave as their aunt Khatera,” he said.

As Ghani talked about the strides his country has made in recent years, another Ohioan – Lawrence Smira, 25, formerly of Lyndhurst in northeast Ohio, sat in the crowd, invited to attend by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington.

Smira served two tours in Afghanistan as a Navy Corpsman -  one from November 2008 to July 2009 and the other from December 2009 through June 2010 – and he said he was happy to hear Ghani welcome troops to help train Afghanistan’s police forces.

He said when he left the country after each tour, he felt some trepidation that the police weren’t well-trained. Now, knowing that they’re being trained “it’s very much reassuring.”

Smira, who now attends college in Washington, D.C., said he was also gratified to hear Ghani express thanks to those who served in Afghanistan, including the fallen and wounded. He’s been thanked before, he said, but being thanked by the president of the country you had served in, he said, meant a lot. Some 2,315 servicemen and women were killed in the conflict, and more than 20,000 were wounded.

He’s been away from Afghanistan for more than five years, but says he’s still pulling for Afghanistan to thrive. “I am absolutely, 100 percent, rooting for that country,” he said.

Stivers, too, said he was impressed by where Ghani said he wants to take the nation.

“I think they are moving things in the right direction,” he said.