Noor Najeeb '09
When Noor Najeeb left Mequon, Wisc. for Brown in the fall of 2005, she "wasn't sure what direction" she wanted to take. But after exploring the open curriculum, she became an international relations concentrator, focusing on politics, culture and identity. Najeeb, whose research interests focus on Middle Eastern conflict, will graduate with honors in the department.
Najeeb, who served as president of the Muslim Students' Association, was a member of the steering committee for the Janus Forum. She sat on the Brown Internationalization Committee and was also an Arabic language tutor.
Most recently, she completed a research project at Miriam Hospital, reviewing medical literature written about violence against Middle Eastern women.
Her speech will "reflect on insights from President Obama's campaign," she said, adding that she hopes to address "the essential role Brown students must play in the greater society."
Najeeb will continue her studies next fall at law school. She hopes to pursue international law and continue her research on the Middle East.
Juliana Thorstenn '09
Juli Thorstenn visited 26 colleges before applying early decision to Brown. "It was the first school that I wanted to go to," she said. Since then, the native of Garden City, N.Y. has spent the last four years pursuing a double concentration in international relations and literary arts.
She has been involved in many tutoring programs since coming to Brown, including Operation Happy Birthday. For the last two years, Thorstenn has been a group leader for the Brown Language Arts program, instructing local students in creative writing.
She described her speech — a "love letter" to Brown — as "very personal."
Next year, Thorstenn will work at Match Charter Public School in Boston as part of the MATCH Corps, an urban education fellowship program. She will live at the school with other recent college graduates and focus on tutoring.
