CASA Fellowship Recipients from GU

Kendall Dorland is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she majored in Arabic and anthropology, focusing on modern Arabic literature. Currently, she works on issues of urban governance and spatial injustice in Cairo and across the Middle East and North Africa.

Rebekah Grafton graduated from Georgetown University in 2019 with a B.A. in linguistics and French, and a minor in Arabic. She spent the 2017-2018 academic year studying in Strasbourg, France, and Rabat, Morocco. In the future, Rebekah hopes to work in translation or refugee resettlement.  

Sonali Dhawan graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in Arabic and Islamic studies and in government.  She previously taught English in Morocco and studied abroad in Jordan, where she also conducted research on the quality of education offered to Syrian refugees.  Sonali also received the Critical Language Scholarship award to study in Oman.  After CASA, she plans to pursue her J.D. in human rights law with a focus on civilian protection in conflict. 

Kevin Chao graduated from Georgetown University in 2018 with a B.A. in government and in Arabic language. His interests include medieval Islamic philosophy and the politics of the modern Middle East. He is excited to return to Cairo, where he has had many memorable experiences. 

Amin Gharad is a double-major in Arabic and philosophy at Georgetown University. Having spent the summer of 2014 in Amman, he is excited to return for another year of study and to pick up an artistic skill—such as calligraphy—as well.

Miguel Merino has an MA in Arabic and Islamic studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Miami. A career performer, he developed a passion for the Arabic language when he lived in Egypt and collaborated with local musicians. He founded and led the musical and educational ensemble Otaak Band in Cairo in 2009. In the spring of 2016 Miguel worked as a research assistant at the Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy in Washington,

Keegan Terek graduated from Georgetown University in 2015 with a BA in Arabic and Spanish and Portuguese Studies. Since 2010, he has spent four summers studying Arabic abroad in Egypt, Morocco, and Oman with the State Department’s NSLI-Y and CLS Programs. His academic interests lie at the intersection of language, sexuality, and identity. Upon completing his CASA Fellowship, Keegan hopes to pursue graduate studies in Arabic Sociolinguistics.

Dilyara Agisheva received an undergraduate degree from University of California, Los Angeles in the fields of Political Science and Middle Eastern studies and an MA from Columbia University. She is currently a PhD student in Arabic and Islamic studies Department at Georgetown University. After completing CASA, Dilyara plans to continue working on her doctoral research on Ottoman history and Islamic law.