Meet Our Students

Sophomores

Muhammad Irfan AKbar, Sophomore, History major whose academic interest lies in Medieval and early Middle Eastern history, Islamic studies, Biblical studies, Comparative Religion, South Asian and East Asian religions – especially Indian religions. Career wise, Muhammad hopes to work for the Foreign Service, or as a an Islamic Theologian, Historian of Early Islam or in treasure hunting. He expresses that it is difficult to choose a specific career just yet as he still does not exactly know what he wants to be. He obviously has some ideas though. He is interested in working for the Foreign Service in a post overseas and may also join the ranks of the Islamic clergy as a theologian or a historian of early and Medieval Islam. Lastly, he as always been interested in the idea of hunting for fabled ancient treasure and Indiana Jones is one of the reasons he started studying history. Muhammad's hobbies include playing videogames, listening to traditional Middle Eastern and South Asian music, especially Dabke and Bhangra, and he is also a huge Star Wars fan.

Chloe Aldridge, Sophomore, Arabic and Public Relations major. Chloe loves languages and someday would like to learn Persian, Korean and Mandarin. After undergraduate studies, she is considering attending law school or simply continuing in Public Relations-related study. Her career interest includes becoming an attorney, working with Middle Eastern corporations or for the CIA. Ultimately, she wants to use Arabic in her career. She hopes to live in the Middle East for at least part of her life and to practice her profession there. She would like to practice corporate law for oil companies or other Middle Eastern industries. If she works for the CIA, she is not yet sure what her options will be but is interested in any field of work would offer. Her hobbies include traveling, languages, learning about history, cooking/baking, music and sampling new and strange cuisine.

Paul Cuno-Booth, Sophomore, Arabic Language and Literature major, would like to pursue a career in politics or international law.

Kaylea Jo Box, Sophomore, Arabic major, undeclared minor whose academic interests include Arabic, History, Languages, Literature, Middle Eastern culture, Spanish and Latin America and Mathematics. Kaylea’s eventual career interest involves teaching and she would like to teach in an Arab nation and then return to the U.S. to teach Arabic in either a high school or university setting. Her hobbies are reading, languages, art, running and baking.

Dickie Fischer, Sophomore, Arabic and History major whose academic interest lies in international relations and languages. Career interest includes diplomacy, social service, civil service and academia. Dickie wants to devote himself to helping others by using his Arabic and Spanish skills to pursue a career in diplomacy, social service, civil service or academia in the Middle East, Europe, or the Americas. Regarding hobbies, he loves to play soccer, bike, ride his motorcycle, and be with friends and family. He dreams of playing professional soccer in the Middle East or starting an Arabic-speaking motorcycle gang. He lives in Andalucía, Spain during the summers and enjoys visiting old Moorish sites. He also love travelling and hopes to travel the world and experience different cultures.

Leah Gilman, Sophomore, Anthropology and Arabic major whose academic interst lies in studying the relationship between the United States and the Middle East. Leah's career interest surrounds research and writing for non-governmental and human rights activist organizations. She will be pursuing degrees in Journalism and Arabic and after graduating, plans to work for non-governmental and activist organizations with focuses in the Middle East, documenting the human rights abuses and struggles of the Arab people. Specifically, she would like to focus on the ways in which America's involvement in the Middle East has effected those in the Arab countries. Throughout her research, she will rely heavily on her knowledge of the Arabic language. Concering hobbies, Leah is involved in the Palestine Solidarity Committee on campus and enjoys doing her own research and reading on foreign policy and history when she has spare time. On the rare occasion that she is not studying or reading, she loves to ride her bike, travel, and go on adventures with close friends.

Arielle Levin, Sophomore, RTF major whose academic interest is to attain fluency in Arabic and learn about film production and storytelling on the screen. Arielle's career goals possibly involve a collaboration of film-making, her knowledge of the Arabic language, and her interest in Middle Eastern conflicts and culture. Her hobbies include reading, swing dancing, listening to and creating music, theatre, playing and learning.

Lindsey Smith, Sophomore, Government major, Arabic minor whose academic interests include political theory and Constitutional law. Lindsey’s career interest focuses on civil rights and liberties law.

Leena Warsi, Sophomore, Arabic Language and Literature major, Urdu minor whose academic interest lies in international relations. Leena’s career interest surrounds foreign service and she would like to work abroad for an organization in which she can use the language skills gained from her classes at UT, as well as explore the culture and community of the country. Her hobbies include learning new types of dance and short, easy phrases in different languages.

Lauren Williams, Sophomore, Linguistics and Arabic Language and Literature major, English minor whose academic interest lies in language change and variation. Her career interest includes government diplomacy and/or intelligence and in the future, hopes to work abroad for either the U.S. State Department or the Central Intelligence Agency in a communications job of some sort, be that translating, conversing with foreign nationals, or any number of other things. In her free time, Lauren most enjoy writing, reading and dabbling in any language she can get her hands on, from Pin-Yin to Portuguese. In short, she loves anything that has to do with words.