Rabi Pervez

graduate

What is something you wish everyone knew about your major? What was your most impactful class or professor? My track is Mediation, Peace, and Conflict Resolution. I remember as a junior looking for different major options that could align with my goals and interests, still unclear at that time, nevertheless, the Social Justice and Cultural Studies program caught my attention. I could not see any other major offering courses from many different disciplines e.g. history, sociology, English, and business, and I knew this was something diverse enough to facilitate my goals and interests.

When I got in, I was not familiar with Cultural Studies as an excellent interdisciplinary field that allows one to look at cultures, traditions, communities, power, and governments from a unique and strong perspective. Dr. Segall was brilliant in introducing us to these tools and working with us over time to polish these skills. I was also able to take courses like Power and Privilege with Dr. Mondesir, Modern Middle East with Dr. Walter, and Latinx Literature with Dr. McFarlane Harris. They all were from different disciplines, and I always merged my thoughts from all these together to come up with something interesting using cultural studies.

What are you excited for in your future career? After graduation, I am looking to begin by contributing to research departments or think tanks, applying my developing skills in analysis, writing, and general research. My specific areas of interest include public policy, global and local education, poverty alleviation, and housing. I am also very interested in endowments and financial planning for NGOs to help them achieve their goals without worrying much about capital. I would love to work with individuals with experience in this and learn and contribute.