Interlocking Threads: Conversations with International Students

In this episode we spoke with Deema Kanbar Agha from Iraq and Bashaar Jarbawi from Palestine. Both Deema and Bashaar are now located in California and while they have been very differently affected by the pandemic in their daily lives, there were a lot of common threads in their reflections on it. In our conversation we talk about the emotional challenges of the pandemic, valuing the simple things, and finding comfort in commonality.

Deema Kanbar Agha is originally from Iraq, she graduated from Earlham College in 2012 with a degree in Psychology. In the Spring of 2020, Deema graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with her Masters of Art in Clinical Counseling.

Bashaar Jarbawi is originally from Palestine. He graduated from Earlham College in 2015 with a degree in Business and Non-Profit Management. He currently lives in San Francisco, California where he works as a Customer Service Representative for First Republic Bank.

In this episode we connected with Ranjit Jose from the USA, Angad Patheja from India, and Rudhi Putra from Indonesia. All three of them currently live outside of the United States so it was really interesting to hear their perspectives on the pandemic. In our conversation we spoke about essential and daily wage earners, managing the next pandemic, and living in the present.

Ranjit Jose is from the United States of America. He graduated from Earlham College in 2003 with a degree in Sociology and Anthropology. He is currently located in Jakarta, Indonesia where he is a Communications Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Tune in Friday to listen to Ranjit speak on social distancing and managing the next pandemic.

Angad Patheja is from India. He graduated form Earlham College in 2012 with a Major in Economics. He currently lives in Pune, India where he runs his own Social Impact Consultant company. Tune in Friday to hear from Angad speak on daily wage earners, managing the next pandemic, and the hairy problem of searching for a job during this time.

Rudhi Putra is originally from Indonesia. He graduated from Earlham College in 2015 with a degree in International Relations. He currently lives in Jakarta, Indonesia where he works as a Research Associate at the Economics Research institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). Tune in Friday to hear from Rudhi speak about being present amidst a pandemic.

In this episode we spoke with Arrita Domi from Kosovo, Cyrus Buckman from Ghana, and Ananda Mishra from Nepal. These three international alum graduated together in 2018 and during our conversation with them they touched on topics that a lot of us have been reflecting on during this time - our emotional well-being during pandemic regulations, being away from family, how to support each other during this time, and the differences between individual and collective behavior.

Arrita Domi is originally from Kosovo, she graduated from Earlham in 2018 with a major in Mathematics and Psychology. She currently lives in Tempe, Arizona where she works as an operations manager.

Cyrus Buckman is originally from Ghana, he graduated from Earlham in 2018 with a degree in Biochemistry. This Fall he will begin his first year as a medical student at Stanford University.

Ananda Mishra, originally from Nepal, majored in Biochemistry. He graduated in 2018 and is currently located in Boston, Massachusetts, where he works as a Research Associate at VL50 Inc., Flagship Pioneering.

In this episode we spoke with Deena Ismail (Palestine-USA), Anja Kresojevic (Bosnia & Herzegovina), and Nabil Parkar (United Kingdom). It was very interesting to hear from them about how their work has been impacted by the pandemic, leading the conversation to reinventing our current moment by learning to create our own experiences. They also shared about living with family during quarantine, cultural identity, and much more!

Anja Kresojevic, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, graduated in 2014 in Business and Non-profit management and International Studies.

She currently lives in Mostar, where she work for Education USA as Program Manager and Education Advisor for the southern region.

Tune in Monday to hear more from Anja about how her work has changed during the pandemic and the Balkan identity.

Deena Ismail, Palestinian-American, is the Supervisor of Programing for The Door, New York City’s largest social service agency. She graduated from Earlham College in 2009, where she majored in Peace and Global Studies. Tune in Monday to hear more from Deena about redesigning systems and reinventing the way we think about doing.

Nabil Parkar, from the UK, graduated in 2012 from Earlham College with a major in Business and Non-Profit Management. He is currently located in London where he is the Senior Marketing Program Manager for Expedia. Tune in Monday to hear from Nabil talk about the challenges and advantages of living with parents/family during quarantine and learning a new job during a pandemic.

In this episode we chat with Mafer Landin from Mexico and Andrey Borokhovich from Russia about how their plans have changed due to the pandemic, our common uncertainty of what’s next, and what to do in the meantime.

Mafer Landin, originally from Mexico, studied Psychology and Sociology & Anthropology at Earlham College. After graduating in 2019, she moved to Portland, Oregon to join the Quaker Voluntary Service where she worked as a Program Assistant at Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. In the Fall of 2020, she will be attending Earlham School of Religion to pursue her Masters Degree in Peace and Social Transformation.

Andrey Borokhovich, originally from Russia, studied International Studies and Business and Non-Profit Management at Earlham College. After graduating in 2019, he joined Masa Israel Journey where he worked as an intern at the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development.

Interlocking Threads: Conversations with International Students.

This is a short introductory episode where we introduce our team and what this project is about and throughout the next weeks and maybe months we will be posting conversations with international alumni from around the world.

Link to the interviews of our previous work:

http://ohla.info/international-stories-journeys-to-during-and-after-earlham/