Shazia Shahnaz ’09 of Dhaka, Bangladesh, came to St. Lawrence from a United World College unit in Swaziland to explore the options a liberal arts education provides.  And she has done her fair share of exploring: She is a double major in psychology and global studies, with a minor in gender studies; she has been a community assistant (CA), helping first-year students adjust to college; she is a member of Chi Omega sorority and serves on its executive board; she has a job in the library; and she is active with the Advocates Program, Amnesty International, Oxfam, International House theme suite and the South Asia Bollywood and Holiday Association. She’s also been an admissions tour guide and has volunteered as a SLU Buddy in a program that matches college students with at-risk local youth.

One of her best experiences at St. Lawrence came in summer 2007.  She was a research assistant to her advisor, Associate Professor of Global Studies John Collins, helping him gather primary sources and research material for his book, tentatively titled Global Palestine, which focuses on the global significance of the Palestinian struggle during the past century. “Shazia and another global studies major, Sasha Tedeschi ’08, were a great help as I worked to gather and organize historical sources for the project,” Collins reports.

Shazia and Tedeschi also teamed to win a coveted Project for Peace award to help a children's shelter in South Africa. For details, click here. After graduation, she hopes to go to graduate school for women's studies, concentrating on immigrants and diaspora population.