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Originally from Aleppo, Syria, Mariam Khayata was one of 32 individuals chosen from the United States in 2023 as a �ǿմ�ý Scholar and will pursue a Master of Philosophy in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford in England beginning October 2024. She is the eighth �ǿմ�ý Scholar from �ǿմ�ý. "My four years at �ǿմ�ý had a profound impact on me. My international and Middle East studies classes inspired me, challenged me, and equipped me with hope that it is possible to make meaningful change for our world." 

Jay Chatterjee enrolled at �ǿմ�ý from Kolkata, India, and enjoyed serving the campus community through leadership positions in campus organizations. Through �ǿմ�ý, he  served as a Policy Research Intern at the University of Macedonia, Greece, and also interned at Afghanaid in London, England. “The �ǿմ�ý Edge is real. That’s helped with my internships and networking. To me, it’s all about bridging the gaps. It is about learning in a smaller, liberal arts environment and then applying what we are learning in a broader, global context.”

Lagos, Nigeria, native Fikemi Aiyepeku credits her �ǿմ�ý liberal arts education, faculty mentors, and peer support as the driving factors behind her placement as an associate consultant at one of the nation's three largest management consulting firms after graduation. "Having this kind of education really helped me think creatively within a business context and to balance multiple complexities in case studies."

Hailing from Myanmar, Norm found the flexibility to customize his coursework to suit his academic vision at �ǿմ�ý. Not only is he minoring in both Chinese and economics, he has also worked with faculty across departments to make his international studies major more interdisciplinary and studied abroad to get hands-on experience in the field. He plans to attend graduate school in international studies and hopes to one day implement his expertise in Southeast Asia. “I want to get to a point where I can actually translate what I’ve learned into something that could be put into practice in terms of policies or change at the community level.”