Student Testimonial Detail

Leila Awad

I am grateful to the Department of Global Middle Eastern Studies for pushing me to challenge my own perceptions of the Arab community, as a Lebanese American. Under GMES, I was given unparalleled flexibility to explore classes from a diverse range of departments and schools, each providing a stimulating environment in which I was able to explore the social, cultural, and political realities of the past while recognizing how their legacies are felt in the Middle East today.

I am especially grateful to Professor Mark LeVine, who is the director of the GMES department, it was under his mentorship that my academic interest in Middle Eastern history and culture flourished and eventually led me to double-major in Global Middle East Studies and History. Inspired to expand my Arabic language skills, explore the complexities and intricacies of Lebanese history, and further embrace my familial roots, I set my mind on studying abroad in Lebanon. Thanks to the department’s unwavering support, I was sitting in my first class at the American University of Beirut six months later. 

As I continue my education at NYU’s master’s program in Near Eastern Studies, I will build on the foundation and utilize the tools that I was given as an undergraduate under the Global Middle Eastern Studies Department.