Berkeley homecoming

My life has run a full cycle. After graduating from Berkeley 6 years ago, I decided that it was time for me to travel the world, both physically and intellectually, though I did not foresee where my future would take me. At the moment, it was enough to escape from the post-911 Islamaphobia and anti-internationalism that was sweeping the country. At 23, I began my master's at Oxford, and started taking a rigourous course of study in comparative politics. But later into the programme I realised that a political science Ph.D. was not my calling, and for about a year personal insecurities and shortcomings got in the way of my academic progress.

It was not until I chose Alan, my former Comparative Government tutor, as my thesis advisor that things turned for the better. He motivated me to pursue what I felt passionate about, and helped me out in times of need In the end, I was able to produce a M.Phil. thesis that reflected my intellectual interests and my childhood experience. It began a process of self-discovery that would take me through Africa, the Middle East, and then to different corners of Asia.