I started at Carleton in 2021, where I completed a GDip in the Migration and Diaspora Studies program and moved on to complete the MA. During this time I was involved in an Assyrian cultural organization based in Toronto where students and youth focussed on promoting and preserving the Assyrian identity while in the diaspora. This is largely what led to me to Carleton and why I chose the Migration and Diaspora Studies program.
Since graduating, I have worked on different projects, most recently on the role of interpretation on sexual minority claimants and how the precarious work of interpreters leads to homophobia and transphobia. As of Fall 2023, I am a PhD student in Sociology at York University where I focus on the role of youth in diasporic identity building processes, specifically of those who are minorities from the MENA region. I am looking forward to continuing my research in the field of Diaspora Studies and to add different perspectives that have otherwise been ignored or understudied. My goal is to add to academia by way of empowering the voices of youth, and minority groups living in the diaspora — to ensure that their perspective and goals are heard and understood.
Carleton’s Migration and Diaspora Studies program is a great place to learn in an open and interdisciplinary way. The program offered new ways of thinking about the movement of peoples and what comes with it through the use of both theory and applied methods. The program mixed different theories and concepts with art, poetry, storytelling and other mediums to get a better understanding of migration and diasporas. This melange of ideas and methods has made me a stronger critical researcher and provided me with the tools and skills needed to succeed moving forward.
The program was also led by outstanding faculty and staff that were supportive throughout the process and provided students with well rounded feedback to best succeed. It is through the program and the support of faculty that I have chosen to pursue a PhD in Sociology, to better understand the relationships of different people as they move from place and space, and create new feelings of belonging in a new home, from generation to generation.