- MES Alumni Profiles
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- Tina Al-khersan, BA, 2017
- Zahir Allarakhia, BA, 2017
- Emily Feuka, BS, 2017
- Arwa Raza, BS, 2017
- Seif-Eldeen Basheer Saqallah, BA, 2017
- Leah Spellberg, BA, 2017
- Ryan Strong, BBA and BA, 2017
- Rona Beresh, BA, 2015
- Layan Charara, BA, 2015
- Alison M. Vacca, PhD, 2013
- Craig W. Tyson; MA, 2006; PhD, 2011
- Jonathan Trotter, BA, 2008
- Muhammad Aziz, PhD, 2004
- Sara Omar, BA, 2003
- Azadeh Shahshahani, BA, 2001
- Robert D. Miller II, PhD, 1998
- Kevin Sullivan; BA, 1994; MA, 1998
- Chave Bahle, MA, 1994
- April DeConick, PhD, 1994
- Recent PhD Alumni
- Giving Opportunities
Field of Study: BA in AAPTIS, HJCS, and Comparative Literature
Graduation year: 2015
I am currently living in Amman working in the regional office of an INGO, implementing psychosocial support programs and women's employment promotion projects in Jordan, and maternal and child health programs in Syria. I love living life in Arabic. It is gratifying to use the language skills I built up with NES, and to see them improve daily. I enjoy even the most mundane aspects of life, if only because they are happening in this beautiful language.
The Near Eastern Studies department was central to my undergraduate experience. I majored in AAPTIS (with a focus on Arabic and Islamic Studies) and Hebrew and Jewish Cultural Studies, and connected them through Comparative Literature. I was focused on translation theory and practice in conjunction with culture and language studies, with a focus on trauma and human rights. As a student, I was the editor of a literary translation journal, and a member of several human rights groups.
I am endlessly grateful for the support I received from the NES department, both academically and financially. With the support of NES faculty, I received a FLAS fellowship to study Arabic in Rabat, Morocco, the Critical Language Scholarship to study in Amman, Jordan, and the Shuckran Kamal and Julia Segall-Derfler Memorial Award.
