Class of 2016

International Studies major

Islamic World Studies & Arabic Language and Culture minor

I started studying Arabic and Islam in the classroom as a Catholic friend and advocate, who in retrospect knew nothing about either. I interned at American Islamic College as my capstone to incorporate what I was learning in my classes with my sincere interest in learning about the community around me. I can't articulate enough how much experiential learning shaped my understanding of what advocacy and solidarity mean. 

I realized I would only feel comfortable admitting I knew anything about a community if I have lived in, worked in, and or shared life with that community. It shaped how I learned to communicate with members of different communities, how I understood diversity and kinship, how I addressed respected members of communities to which I did not belong, how I would value my learning and growth over comfort, and how I would consider my choices/words/ actions more wisely.

Following graduation I began a position at the United Nations, which I got because of my acquired knowledge in Arabic and Islamic World Studies, and cultural awareness. While there, I realized there was a lot for me to learn (especially if this work would want me to be "representing" a part of the world I did not have any lived experience with), so I applied for a fellowship in the West Bank. I received the fellowship and had the absolutely incredible opportunity to work with forcibly displaced and refugee adults on their career path and employment. Now I've returned and work full-time at a workforce development non-profit startup where I often work with immigrant adults on individualized career counseling.