What is your major?
Global Development,
Student-Designed major in Middle East and North African Studies, and
Honors Liberal Arts
What is something you wish everyone knew about your major?
I wish people knew what it was! I usually explain global development as humanitarian and poverty relief work — what organizations like World Vision and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation do — but it’s a bummer that it’s such a little known field. To be honest though, I didn’t even know that it was called this when I was applying to colleges.
What was your most impactful class?
Probably Gender Studies: The Case of Morocco, which I actually took while studying abroad on one of SPU’s Partner Programs (you’ll never guess which country hehe). It sparked an interest in women’s studies that has led me to pursue a Masters’ Program in Women and Development hopefully sometime in the near future.
What are some of your career goals?
This coming year, I will be serving as the Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion Fellow at World Concern, working on design and evaluation of poverty-relief programs in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. After that, I hope to pursue independent research and graduate school to study the intersection of women, international development, and religion. There is a growing realization of how influential religious communities are in alleviating poverty, which means more jobs concentrating on these partnerships — I would love to be a pioneer in this area focusing on women’s empowerment through religion in particular.
What advice do you have for incoming students?
Try new things. Take random classes, join clubs, attend or plan events. College is a time to learn about yourself and explore, and you never know what you might find that could become a lifelong passion. But also, recognize that college is just a launching pad, and not the end-all-be-all — you won’t have time for everything, and that’s ok.