Shaheer Rahman

SaiU Global Challenges Intern

As an incoming junior at the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po, I have spent the last two years in Menton, France, where I am studying Economics and Sociology with a concentration on the MENA region, and will spend the next two years in New York, where I’ll study Economics and Political Science. Originally from Dallas and a child of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, I grew up in a diverse, multicultural, and interfaith community that instilled in me a desire to promote understanding and collaboration in my life and career.

Living in Europe has afforded me rewarding experiences that have significantly impacted my worldview. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to learn more about European culture and life as I’ve travelled throughout the EU, and I’ve also been able to learn French. Moreover, to delve into my interests in interfaith collaboration and peacebuilding, I had the opportunity to conduct a research project at the American University of Cairo, where I studied the common national identity and bonds between the city’s Muslim and Coptic communities. I am currently further exploring this interest at the Embodying Peace fellowship, where I am working with an NGO in the West Bank to help empower Palestinian women and learn about civil society peacebuilding in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I’ve also been able to make weekly visits to Italy to assist the migrant and refugee communities on the Franco-Italian border during the pandemic. 

I was inspired to join The Trebuchet at Embodying Peace, where Sherman Teichman is a Senior Advisor to the fellows. There, I learned about the amazing work the Trebuchet does, and was also able to occasionally visit Convisero webinars. I am truly excited to contribute to and learn from the work that Sherman and The Trebuchet do and have started this by becoming a teaching assistant for his Global Challenges course at Sai University.