CASA Fellows 2019-2020 – Congratulations to Michael Battalia, Kendall Dorland, Rebekah Grafton, & Sam Riccardi

The Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies congratulates the 2018-2019 Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) Fellows who are Georgetown University alumni.

Michael Battalia received his M.S. in Foreign Service and M.A. in History from Georgetown University, where he was a FLAS Fellow, and a bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics.  He previously spent seven years living in the Middle East as a management consultant with Deloitte.  Michael is particularly interested in early twentieth-century Arabic poetry, literature, and political philosophy.  After CASA, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Middle East history.

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.  

Sam Ricciardi graduated from Georgetown University in 2017 with a B.A. in political economy. He worked at Bain & Company Middle East Network for two years before beginning the CASA program. After CASA, he will pursue an M.A. in international affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS.  

Further information can be found on the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) page.