Degree: BPhil in International and Area Studies and History – 2012
Current position: Independent Journalist
My study of history at the University of Pittsburgh helped me develop a deep understanding of the context of current events and taught me to challenge dominant historical narratives by listening to voices and perspectives that have often been overlooked or left out. My studies also helped to hone research, analytical and writing skills that are critical to my work.
After graduating from Pitt, I moved to Beirut, Lebanon and worked with a Lebanese NGO that promotes media and cultural freedom in the Middle East, finding my way into journalism from there.
Since then, I have reported extensively on the toll that restrictive migration policies take on the lives of individuals attempting to flee war and persecution and the tragedy and desperate hope that drives people to risk their lives to try to find safety. I have worked primarily in the Mediterranean region, living in various parts of the Middle East and North Africa, and have also reported from the US-Mexico border.
I have written for WIRED Magazine, the New Republic, The Nation, the MIT Technology Review, Mother Jones and The New Humanitarian, among other outlets, and I have been a finalist for a National Magazine Award, The Kurt Schork Memorial Award for International Journalist and a One World Media Refugee Reporting Award.