Iman Siddiqi
B.A. political science | B.A. global Middle East studies
It began with a family trip to Turkey. When political science and global Middle East studies major Iman Siddiqi visited the country three years ago, she encountered a number of Syrian refugee families and saw firsthand the impact of that nation’s ongoing civil war. When Siddiqi returned home to Irvine, she couldn’t forget the experience. She enrolled in Arabic classes at UCI, and through online conversations with Syrians, she met many refugees who had been students and scholars but whose academic dreams had been cut short by the conflict. Siddiqi used her new language skills to help them find educational opportunities abroad, but she wanted to do more. As a UCI Dalai Lama Scholar, Siddiqi orchestrated a fundraiser in November that netted nearly $100,000 for refugee scholarships; in January, she organized Refugee Awareness Week on campus through her club, Peaceful Passions. Siddiqi will leave for Oakland the day after commencement (where she’ll be the School of Social Sciences speaker) to participate in a summerlong Arabic language immersion program. After that, she’ll come back to UCI as a law student and continue fighting for refugee rights.
– Megan Cole, UCI
B.A. political science | B.A. global Middle East studies
It began with a family trip to Turkey. When political science and global Middle East studies major Iman Siddiqi visited the country three years ago, she encountered a number of Syrian refugee families and saw firsthand the impact of that nation’s ongoing civil war. When Siddiqi returned home to Irvine, she couldn’t forget the experience. She enrolled in Arabic classes at UCI, and through online conversations with Syrians, she met many refugees who had been students and scholars but whose academic dreams had been cut short by the conflict. Siddiqi used her new language skills to help them find educational opportunities abroad, but she wanted to do more. As a UCI Dalai Lama Scholar, Siddiqi orchestrated a fundraiser in November that netted nearly $100,000 for refugee scholarships; in January, she organized Refugee Awareness Week on campus through her club, Peaceful Passions. Siddiqi will leave for Oakland the day after commencement (where she’ll be the School of Social Sciences speaker) to participate in a summerlong Arabic language immersion program. After that, she’ll come back to UCI as a law student and continue fighting for refugee rights.
– Megan Cole, UCI