Hi classmates,
My name is Rachel and I'm a senior this year. I anticipate graduating this summer with a B.A. in International Studies and a B.A. in Political Science. I am also minoring in Italian. I began my studies at OSU as focusing my international studies degree on the Middle East; however, I wanted to take both Arabic and Italian, but already had a background in the Italian language. I decided to focus on international relations and diplomacy as opposed to the Middle East for more flexibility in language choices for my course of study. I plan to go to law school soon after graduation and want to study Arabic after I graduate at whatever institution I end up.
I have had a very strong attachment to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since high school and focused much of my free time studying the conflict, which led to my eventual choice to major in international studies. I became My dream job would be working as a human rights attorney in Palestine, but we'll see where life takes me after law school. I am really excited to join this class and delve more deeply into a topic that has always fascinated me due to its political, legal, ethnic, and religious overtones--four topics that I also love to discuss.
I also am a volunteer English teacher at a refugee resettlement center in Columbus and work with mostly elderly refugees from Bhutan. It's so interesting as an American (who automatically has privilege, comparatively speaking) to hear the plights of others that I cannot possibly grasp. It drives me to want to help them as much as humanly possible. Going to their homes and seeing how little they have and the horrors they have experienced in their lives, yet seeing their grateful attitudes and warm personalities, reminds me of my passion to help those who are at a disadvantage in a variety of ways: mental health-wise, socio-economically, and so on.
So in sum, my main interests lie in human rights and refugee-related issues, which is seen clearly in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I look forward to discussing the nuances of such a complex issue. I also look forward to hopefully discussing solutions to the issue surrounding not just the Jerusalem question, but the conflict as a whole.
I look forward to discussions with you all!
Rachel
Nice to meet you, Rachel! Do you volunteer at CRIS? I help out at their Saturday evening citizenship classes and I love it. The Bhutanese students are intelligent, energetic, and so cute!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you as well! I actually volunteer as US Together, the other refugee resettlement center. That's awesome that you're volunteering there though! Citizenship information is very difficult to teach, especially when so many struggle with basic language skills. But it's all about getting them to pass their test according to USCIS. The Bhutanese students are adorable! I love how much they care about learning. Several of my students were in refugee camps for 17 years. One was even a former member of the Bhutanese congress. Seeing someone fall from a position of authority to being confined to a refugee camp and living on the brink of poverty in the US is very sad and humbling. But seeing the happiness that many seem to have in spite of all of their struggles is so rewarding and allows me to keep my own problems in perspective :)
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