Meet Our Students

Juniors

Jeff Abadie, Junior, Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies major, academic interest lies in Arabic and career interest lies in working overseas in a diplomatic role for the US Government. Hobbies include reading, mountain biking and SCUBA diving.

Siree Allers, Junior, Middle Eastern Studies and Geography major, would like to serve in the Peace Corps as a teacher and eventually pursue a career in government.

Kelsey Balaban, Junior, Middle Eastern Studies major and Linguistics minor whose academic interest is to gain fluency in Arabic, and as broad and deep an understanding of the Arab and Persian worlds as is possible, in her last two years of undergraduate study. Kelsey’s career interest involves eventual work with a Non-Governmental Organization in humanitarian and reconciliation efforts in the Middle East. Her hobbies include talking, laughing and living life with her twenty-eight housemates, watching documentaries, reading good writing (memoirs in particular), discovering other cultures, soaking in the beauty of creation, and listening to and getting to know people.

Jordan Bellquist, Junior, Linguistics major, would like to use her Arabic skills to pursue a career in film making.

Barbara Borodziewicz, Junior, Plan II Honors and French major, whose academic interest lies in languages (Arabic and French), international relations/studies (Africa and the Middle East) and career interest surrounds international/human rights law. As a Plan II Honors and French major, Barbara hopes to use her background and skills to work with immigrants’ rights and human rights as a lawyer. After graduating she plans to apply to graduate law programs and hopes to work with marginalized populations in the West especially coming from African and Middle Eastern countries. She believes the Arabic language will help her in this goal, especially if her work will be on an international level. Barbara’s hobbies include reading, journaling, painting, backpacking and tennis.

Reid Campbell, Junior, Plan II and Arabic major, Religious Studies minor whose academic interest lies in languages and study and comparison of the Abrahamic Religions. Reid’s career interest surrounds foreign service and international relations, specific to the Department of State or Foreign Services. His ultimate professional goal is to become an ambassador and contribute in the creation and maintenance of peaceful and mutually beneficial relationships between the nations of the Middle East and America. Reid’s hobbies include playing and writing music, reading, sailing and camping.

Elizabeth Cary, Junior, Linguistics and Spanish major, Arabic minor whose academic interest surrounds language acquisition. Elizabeth’s career interest is in foreign diplomacy or teaching in a university. Her hobbies are running, baking, writing, and playing soccer with her friends.

Shuyi Laura Chen, Junior, Business Honors/Finance major and Arabic minor whose academic interest lies in economic development and microfinancing. Her career interest includes working with political refugees in microfinancing institutions abroad or in America, and financing economic development projects in developing nations in the Middle East and Asia. Laura is fascinated by how microfinancing can relieve poverty and provide opportunities for people who cannot want to work for either a microfinancing firm, and NGO that aids refugees, or an international organization focused on developing nations’ economies. Her hobbies include people-watching, riding public transport, reference books, traveling, writing, late-night jogs, evolutionary biology, making a great cup of cocoa, seasonal celebrations, ethnic restaurants and surprise adventures.

Ashley Harrison, Junior, Middle Eastern Studies and Political Communication major, would like to serve as a Foreign Service Officer in the Near Middle East for the US Department of State.

Alan Kauffman, Junior, Arabic Language and Literature major, Middle Eastern Studies minor, whose academic interests lie in Arabic and History. Alan's eventual career interest is in academia, teaching Arabic at either the High School or college level, or possibly going abroad to teach English. As hobbies, Alan enjoys staying active by playing sports or running, and he also likes to relax and play music.

Imaad Khan, Junior, Religious Studies and English major, would like to use his Arabic skills to become a professor of Islamic Studies and Comparative Religion.

Chris Konstantinidis, Junior, Arabic and Advertising major, Business Foundations minor who academic interest lies in languages and advertising. Chris hopes to eventually work for a Middle Eastern advertising agency where he will be able to utilize both his skills in advertising and Arabic. His hobbies include dancing Ballet Folklorico (traditional Mexican dancing), swimming, reading, web-design and being a Resident Assistant.

Chelsea Lowden, Junior, Linguistics major, International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies minor whose academic interest lies in obtaining fluency in Arabic, as well as knowledge of the foreign policy between the United States and the Middle East. After receiving her Bacehlor's, she hopes to continue her studies and obtain a Master's Degree in Arabic. Chelsea's other academic interests focus on phonetics and sociolinguistics, as well as evolutionary linguistics and the origins of spoken language. Her career interest is to work as a translator or foreign analyst, or alternatively in international relations. She would like to work for the US State Department in translation follwoing graduation, or possibly with an international company as a translator. Her hobbies include reading, music of all sorts, baking, buying and watching movies and going to the movies with friends.

Matthew Lubrano, Junior, Dean’s Scholars Honors Option in Mathematics major, interested in Linguistics, German or Computer Science as a minor. Academic interest lies in natural language processing, computational linguistics and applied math. Career interest surrounds research and teaching international business. Matthew would like to study how computers process human language. Much research is being done is the area of so-called “Natural Language Processing” in the hope that computers and humans can exchange information more fluidly. He might, for example, work to develop techniques that allow computers to convert human inputs (e.g. speech or signing) into more formal, computer representations. His hobbies include dabbling in weight lifting, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, running, and swimming.  He enjoys reading, attending live theater, cooking, and, of course, studying the beautiful Arabic language into the wee hours of the morning.

Esther Mandelbaum, Junior, Linguistics major and Geology minor who academic has her focused on hoping to receive a Master’s degree in Linguistics. Her main areas of interest are acoustics, historical language reconstruction and second language acquisition. She intends to learn other Semitic languages in the future, and focus on this language family in research. She’d also like to study languages of other areas in the Middle East and Asia, including Farsi and Urdu. Esther's carrer intrest is to join the Peace Corps, then the CIA Open Office or State Department. She will be applying to join the Peace Corps after graduation, with hopes to be assigned in Jordan or possibly Morocco. She wants to work in a government position afterwards, possibly as a translator and analyst, but still hasn’t decided if she prefers to pursue a future in academia alone. Either way, she wants a future in which she can travel the world and continue to meet new and different people. Her hobbies include traveling, reading and camping during the great, Texas summer, and she also enjoys the live music capital of the world.

Bruce Martin, Junior, English, Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies majors, Geography minor whose academic interests lie in comparative literature, poetry, and history. Bruce’s career interests surround international law and teaching. Bruce’s interest in international law developed because international borders are becoming less and less visible in our highly connected world. Commerce and culture are exported and imported from nation to nation each day. For each country to accept its responsibility in the global world there must be lawyers with the knowledge of different cultures, languages and customs. Whether working with refuges or helping a business to expand, the goal is to create legal accessibility for all peoples. His hobbies include music, reading and writing.

Ryan Miller, Junior, Arabic Language and Literature, Government, Middle Eastern Studies major, whose academic interests, complementing his majors, lie in the arts, especially music, poetry and photography. Ryan’s career interest surrounds international diplomacy on the issues of human rights and environmental protection. Though he is not yet sure just how he will use these skills upon graduation, he hopes that his Arabic, in some form, will allow him to help the impoverished regions of the Middle East attain a basic standard of living acceptable in the modern world. He also hopes to aid the region in its integration with globalization and enter a new era of peace alongside it. Additionally, he would like to pursue work in the arts. His hobbies include reading the news, listening to jazz, learning bass guitar, riding his bike through Austin, running, poetry, taking walks and cooking.

Isbah Raja, Junior, Plan II and Arabic major, French minor whose academic interests lie in Arabic, Natural Sciences, Literature and Middle Eastern History. Isbah's career interest involes exploring public health issues in the Middle East and North America. She hopes to obtain a Master's Degree in Public Health so that she can work in the Middle East to explore various health issues that affect this regtion. She would like to combine her interest in Natural Sciences with her interest in Arabic language and culture to find solutions for emerging social needs. Her hobbies include keeping up with family and her favorite sports teams (the Rockets, Texas basketball and football, and Andy Roddick) as well as cooking, reading random articles and exploring various cultures through cuisine and traveling.

Muna Saeeda Rehman, Junior, Arabic, Geography and Government major whose academic interest lies in Modern Standard Arabic, the influence of Arabic on other languages, political institutions in the Muslim world, modernization in the Muslim world, global equity and sustainability. Her eventual career will involve academic research and civil service. She hopes to go to law school and obtain a PhD in Political Science with an emphasis on the politics in the Muslim world. She hopes to work for the government for a short while as a diplomat abroad, and return to America to pursue a career in teaching and research. Her hobbies are reading and discovering.

Corey Shaver, Junior, German and Islamic Studies major and Arabic minor whose acadmic interests surround Germany and Islam, specifically the German perception of Islam. Career wise, Corey is intrested in teaching Arabic as a second language.

Allison Watkins, Junior, Arabic and Government major, Spanish and Middle Eastern Studies minor whose academic interest lies in international relations and diplomacy. Allison’s career interest is in Foreign Service and she would like to work for the State Department, the Foreign Service, or an international non-profit organization.

Creston Whittington, Junior, RTF major whose academic interest lies in Italian. Creston's career interest is in filmmaking and he eventually hopes to work in documentary and feature film production in the context of foreign languages and foreign cultures. His hobbies include espresso, languages, piano, running, cello, skiing, photography, backpacking and camping.