Hi! I'm Zaina and I'm interested in narrative.
I am an MA student at the University of Virginia studying English. I'm interested in nineteenth and twentieth century literature about and by Arab and Arab Americans. I'm interested in transatlantic and diaspora literature more generally, and am conscious of the feminist and ecocritical lens necessary for scholarship on those subjects. My interest in the digital humanities stems from my desire to explore how to capture complex political nuances in an easily accessible digital form which can be understood by not only political professionals and academics, but everyday consumers of the news.
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Education
MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH | AUGUST 2019 T0 DECEMBER 2020 | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
• GPA: 4.0
• With Certificate in the Digital Humanities (Anticipated Completion: December 2020)
• 2020-2021 Graduate English Student Association MA Student Representative
BACHELOR OF ARTS | AUGUST 2014 TO MAY 2018 | THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
• Major: English (in-major GPA: 4.0)
• Minor: Business (cumulative GPA: 3.87)
• Magna Cum Laude with Undergraduate Thesis Research Distinction
Work
RESEARCH CONSULTANT | SYRIANS FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE | OCTOBER 2020 – TODAY
• Outlined and edited reports about Syrians' response and aspirations for The Syrian Constitutional Committee, a United Nations facilitated constituent assembly process.
• Translated testimonial and survey data from Arabic to English.
WRITING FELLOW | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | AUGUST 2020 – TODAY
• Served DMP Media Studies students in completing year-long thesis projects.
• Organized research and writing workshops.
WRITING CONSULTANT | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | SEPTEMBER 2019 – TODAY
• Supported students on diverse writing projects at both holistic & grammatical levels, including essays, personal statements, grants, academic articles, presentations, creative writing etc.
• Created training material for first-year research writing.
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, DR. ALISON BOOTH| THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | SEPTEMBER 2019 – TODAY
• Assisted in development of “Big Data & Biographical Data” course syllabus.
• Analyzed collections in The Collective Biographies of Women Project (CBW) using the XML stand-side Biographical Elements and Structure Schema (BESS).
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, DR. TAMIKA CAREY | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | SEPTEMBER 2019 – MAY 2020
• Assembled celebrity and academic “call-out” case studies.
• Story-boarded chrome extension to support academics targeted by internet hate.
INTENSIVE CULTURAL ORIENTATION AMERICORPS MEMBER | COMMUNITY REFUGEE AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES | JUNE 2018 TO JUNE 2019
• Created and provided housing curriculum to 54 newly arrived refugees, secondary migrants, and asylees.
• Managed volunteers and volunteer recruitment for Intensive CO program.
WRITING CONSULTANT | THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY | AUGUST 2016 – MAY 2018
• Facilitated STEP writing group supporting sophomore students on year-long research assignment.
• Created training materials for i.e. queries, articles, and research skills.
INTERN/VOLUNTEER | THE ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE | JUNE 2017 TO SEPTEMBER 2017
• Advocated for Arab Americans to Congress and D.C. Think Thanks through institutional dialogues.
• Organized “YallaVote” campaign at The Ohio State University registering Arab students to vote.
POLICY INTERN | THE TRUMAN CENTER | JUNE 2017 TO AUGUST 2017
• Tested and researched Indicators and Warnings model to track democratic backslide in the U.S., Turkey, and Ukraine, now public facing on Stop the Slide.
• Compiled research on diplomatic efforts to combat climate change’s impact on national security.
Conferences & Workshops
THE INDIAN OCEAN IN THE ANTHROPOCENE | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020
• Attended workshop series on the effects of climate change with author Amitav Ghosh and Dr. Debjani Ganguly.
THE JAMES RIVER WRITERS CONFERENCE| JAMES RIVER WRITERS| OCTOBER 2020
• Attended workshops on fiction and non-fictional narrative.
GRADCON 2020 | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | OCTOBER 2020
• Presented “Following the Religion of Love: A Poetic Comparison of William Blake and Mohammad Ibn al-Arabi”.
MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH | AUGUST 2019 T0 DECEMBER 2020 | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
• GPA: 4.0
• With Certificate in the Digital Humanities (Anticipated Completion: December 2020)
• 2020-2021 Graduate English Student Association MA Student Representative
BACHELOR OF ARTS | AUGUST 2014 TO MAY 2018 | THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
• Major: English (in-major GPA: 4.0)
• Minor: Business (cumulative GPA: 3.87)
• Magna Cum Laude with Undergraduate Thesis Research Distinction
Work
RESEARCH CONSULTANT | SYRIANS FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE | OCTOBER 2020 – TODAY
• Outlined and edited reports about Syrians' response and aspirations for The Syrian Constitutional Committee, a United Nations facilitated constituent assembly process.
• Translated testimonial and survey data from Arabic to English.
WRITING FELLOW | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | AUGUST 2020 – TODAY
• Served DMP Media Studies students in completing year-long thesis projects.
• Organized research and writing workshops.
WRITING CONSULTANT | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | SEPTEMBER 2019 – TODAY
• Supported students on diverse writing projects at both holistic & grammatical levels, including essays, personal statements, grants, academic articles, presentations, creative writing etc.
• Created training material for first-year research writing.
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, DR. ALISON BOOTH| THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | SEPTEMBER 2019 – TODAY
• Assisted in development of “Big Data & Biographical Data” course syllabus.
• Analyzed collections in The Collective Biographies of Women Project (CBW) using the XML stand-side Biographical Elements and Structure Schema (BESS).
RESEARCH ASSISTANT, DR. TAMIKA CAREY | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | SEPTEMBER 2019 – MAY 2020
• Assembled celebrity and academic “call-out” case studies.
• Story-boarded chrome extension to support academics targeted by internet hate.
INTENSIVE CULTURAL ORIENTATION AMERICORPS MEMBER | COMMUNITY REFUGEE AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES | JUNE 2018 TO JUNE 2019
• Created and provided housing curriculum to 54 newly arrived refugees, secondary migrants, and asylees.
• Managed volunteers and volunteer recruitment for Intensive CO program.
WRITING CONSULTANT | THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY | AUGUST 2016 – MAY 2018
• Facilitated STEP writing group supporting sophomore students on year-long research assignment.
• Created training materials for i.e. queries, articles, and research skills.
INTERN/VOLUNTEER | THE ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE | JUNE 2017 TO SEPTEMBER 2017
• Advocated for Arab Americans to Congress and D.C. Think Thanks through institutional dialogues.
• Organized “YallaVote” campaign at The Ohio State University registering Arab students to vote.
POLICY INTERN | THE TRUMAN CENTER | JUNE 2017 TO AUGUST 2017
• Tested and researched Indicators and Warnings model to track democratic backslide in the U.S., Turkey, and Ukraine, now public facing on Stop the Slide.
• Compiled research on diplomatic efforts to combat climate change’s impact on national security.
Conferences & Workshops
THE INDIAN OCEAN IN THE ANTHROPOCENE | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2020
• Attended workshop series on the effects of climate change with author Amitav Ghosh and Dr. Debjani Ganguly.
THE JAMES RIVER WRITERS CONFERENCE| JAMES RIVER WRITERS| OCTOBER 2020
• Attended workshops on fiction and non-fictional narrative.
GRADCON 2020 | THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA | OCTOBER 2020
• Presented “Following the Religion of Love: A Poetic Comparison of William Blake and Mohammad Ibn al-Arabi”.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE | THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES | AUGUST 2020
• Presented “Enchanting and Disenchanting: Orientalism Among American Abolitionists”.
• Presented “Enchanting and Disenchanting: Orientalism Among American Abolitionists”.
THE JAMES RIVER WRITERS CONFERENCE| JAMES RIVER WRITERS| OCTOBER 2019
• Attended workshops on fiction and non-fictional narrative.
CONFLUENCE | PARSEC | JULY 2018
• Completed reading of "Midas" at PARSEC's Confluence literary conference.
THE MIDWEST WRITERS WORKSHOP | MIDWEST WRITERS | OCTOBER 2017
• Received scholarship to attend fiction workshops with authors, editors, and agents, and other writers throughout the Midwest.
DENMAN FORUM | THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY | APRIL 2017
• Presented IRB certified research “The Space In-Between: Third Culture Experience in American Universities”.
• Placed First in Research on Linguistics and Emerging Cultures.
MANSFIELD SHAKESPEARE CONFERENCE| THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY| NOVEMBER 2016
• Presented “The Vulnerable Tyrant: Reimagining Julius Caesar”.
Grants and Awards
• Research Society for American Periodicals Early Career Research Grant | $500 | August 2020
• The University of Virginia Summer Research Grant | $800 | May 2020
• AmeriCorps Education Award | $5,000 | June 2019
• First Place, “Midas” | Parsec Ink Short Story Contest | July 2018
• Eric Smith Conference Pass for Diverse Writers |Midwest Writer’s Workshop | June 2017
• Honorable Mention, “The Tragedy of Drowning Cities” | Writer’s of the Future Contest | December 2016
• The Ohio State University Morill Excellence Scholarship | Full Tuition | 2014-2018
Publications
• "Victory cannot mean complacency" | The New Arab, 4 November 2020
• "Our Arab American forefathers left us a legacy we cannot ignore" | The New Arab, 20 October 2020
• "What Dune and US Foreign Policy Have in Common" | Inkstick, September 10, 2020
• "Midas"| Short Story published in Parsec Ink Literary Magazine, July 2018
• "Growing Death Toll in al-Raqqa Under Trump" | Truman Security Project, August 17, 2017
Additional Skills
LANGUAGE: Fluent in Arabic (reading, writing, speaking), Moderate in Spanish (reading, speaking)
TECHNOLOGY: XML, Microsoft Suite, Sony Movie Studio, Salesforce, WordPress, Scrivener.
• Attended workshops on fiction and non-fictional narrative.
CONFLUENCE | PARSEC | JULY 2018
• Completed reading of "Midas" at PARSEC's Confluence literary conference.
THE MIDWEST WRITERS WORKSHOP | MIDWEST WRITERS | OCTOBER 2017
• Received scholarship to attend fiction workshops with authors, editors, and agents, and other writers throughout the Midwest.
DENMAN FORUM | THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY | APRIL 2017
• Presented IRB certified research “The Space In-Between: Third Culture Experience in American Universities”.
• Placed First in Research on Linguistics and Emerging Cultures.
MANSFIELD SHAKESPEARE CONFERENCE| THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY| NOVEMBER 2016
• Presented “The Vulnerable Tyrant: Reimagining Julius Caesar”.
Grants and Awards
• Research Society for American Periodicals Early Career Research Grant | $500 | August 2020
• The University of Virginia Summer Research Grant | $800 | May 2020
• AmeriCorps Education Award | $5,000 | June 2019
• First Place, “Midas” | Parsec Ink Short Story Contest | July 2018
• Eric Smith Conference Pass for Diverse Writers |Midwest Writer’s Workshop | June 2017
• Honorable Mention, “The Tragedy of Drowning Cities” | Writer’s of the Future Contest | December 2016
• The Ohio State University Morill Excellence Scholarship | Full Tuition | 2014-2018
Publications
• "Victory cannot mean complacency" | The New Arab, 4 November 2020
• "Our Arab American forefathers left us a legacy we cannot ignore" | The New Arab, 20 October 2020
• "What Dune and US Foreign Policy Have in Common" | Inkstick, September 10, 2020
• "Midas"| Short Story published in Parsec Ink Literary Magazine, July 2018
• "Growing Death Toll in al-Raqqa Under Trump" | Truman Security Project, August 17, 2017
Additional Skills
LANGUAGE: Fluent in Arabic (reading, writing, speaking), Moderate in Spanish (reading, speaking)
TECHNOLOGY: XML, Microsoft Suite, Sony Movie Studio, Salesforce, WordPress, Scrivener.