CMES newsFall 12_3_web.pdf - Center for Middle Eastern Studies ...

News of MeS Alumni
We proudly continue reporting on the achievements of the graduates of the undergraduate major in MeS.
We are gratified to know that our alumni have maintained their commitment to the Middle east, whether
in the academic or professional world or through government service. If you are an MeS alumna/us
with news to share, we would love to hear from you! please write to us at: cmes@berkeley.edu
Jordan Bethke (2012) is working
for the Navy .
Maria Bucon-Scales (2012)
spent the summer of 2012 working
as a white water river guide on the
American river . This fall she plans to
travel to Costa rica .
Elise Burton (2010), a graduate
student in the Middle Eastern
Studies/History joint program at
Harvard University presented papers
at two conferences: in March, she
presented the paper “Ethnic Humor,
Stereotypes, and Cultural Power
in Israeli Cinema,” at the annual
conference of the Society for Cinema
and Media Studies in Boston . In
June, she delivered the paper “The
Ideology of Israeli Marriage: Mizug
Galuyot, Unorthodox Weddings,
and National Identity” at the annual
conference of the Association
for Israel Studies in Haifa . Elise
passed her general exams in May
and is spending the summer in
Istanbul studying Turkish and doing
preliminary dissertation research,
funded by a summer language grant
from the Institute for Turkish Studies .
Ismail Elhallak (2012) will begin
a Ph .D . program in the fall in the
Department of Near Eastern Studies
at UC Berkeley .
Nadia Ghanmeh (2012) is
considering various employment
opportunities . She also hopes to
travel in the Middle East from Turkey
and to Morocco .
10 center for middle eastern studies
Maha Ibrahim (2006) will begin
law school this fall at UClA . She was
accepted as one of the 25 incoming
students to participate in the Public
Interest law Program . Prior to this,
she served as a Congressional
Aide for Congresswoman Barbara
lee in her Oakland District Office .
Along with field work in the Alameda
County area, she primarily served as
her District Speech Writer and lead
district staffer for Middle East Affairs .
She has also worked for assembly
member Nancy Skinner as a Senior
Field representative for the Alameda
County area . Maha will be getting
married in the spring of 2013 .
Abe Kaplan (2012) hopes to enroll
in an Arabic immersion program
in Beirut . He will also continue his
research on contemporary lebanese
politics and women’s rights
campaigns .
Sarah Katz (2012) plans to
carry out her graduate studies in
international law, preparing for a
career in international humanitarian
law and diplomacy .
Zari Matthews (2012) is applying
to Ph .D . programs and researching
the intersection of internet
technology and Middle Eastern
entertainment . Her current venture is
a streaming video, social networking
website . The website is producing
dance classes and instructional
choreography videos of artists who
formerly belonged to national folk
troupes of Egypt and Kuwait . It also
offers instruction in raqs sharqi by
performers based in Cairo, Dubai,
Zanzibar, the US and Istanbul .
Jennifer Mogannam (2008) was
admitted to two Ph .D . programs in
Ethnic Studies to begin in the fall
of 2012 . She is currently deciding
between UC San Diego and UC
riverside .
Victor Ray (2012) is commissioning
as a Second lieutenant in the United
States Marine Corps .
Zoe Rudrow (2012) moved to New
York City where she is working with
the New York City legal Assistance
Group’s Immigrant Protection Unit .
Ariana Sarfarazi (2010) is
currently working for the Iran Human
Documentation Center on a project
about the politics of motherhood
in Iran . In the summer of 2012, she
will be studying international human
rights law and international criminal
law at Oxford University in the UK .
In the fall of 2012, Ariana will begin
her second year of law school at
George Washington University and
will be pursuing a related internship in
Washington, DC .
Christy Stanker (2012) is the
Campaign Manager for Joan
Buchanan, the incumbent Democrat
running for State Assembly in Contra
Costa County and east Alameda
County . She spent the summer of
2012 backpacking across Europe for
five weeks .
Maia Wolins (2012) currently
works in Sacramento at the California
Senate Office of International
relations and at Kaufman Campaign
Consultants . In the summer of 2012,
she had the opportunity to welcome
delegates from Saudi Arabia, Oman,
Tunisia and Yemen .