Katie’s journey from Cairo to the Admissions Office

Today, we’ll meet Katie, the third (and last), of the new Admissions interns.  She’ll describe a little of the adventure she experienced in her pre-Fletcher months. Next week, I’ll reintroduce the interns who are continuing students.

Hey!  My name is Katie (pronounced the French way) and I am a first-year MALD student.  I am at Fletcher because I’m very curious about the fields of Human Security and NGO & Public Management.  I am Lebanese Egyptian, born and raised in Cairo.  Before coming to Fletcher, I had an eventful few months.  Here’s what happened:

January 2011:  I am working full time as a legal officer, focusing on resettlement cases, in an NGO called Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance.  I am also studying to complete my Master of International Business Law at the Pantheon Sorbonne Institute in Cairo University.  My (super beautiful) niece is born, and I start showing photos of her to anyone who comes my way.  People are getting really worked up a couple of streets away from my office, in some Tahrir Square; they’re blocking the traffic circulation.

February 2011:  My boss invites us to all go to Tahrir, since it’s not safe to ask our clients to come in, and we can’t focus on work anyway.  Meanwhile, final exams for the first semester are postponed indefinitely.  Some days later, the only president I had ever known decides to step down, and it’s a New Year’s Eve kind of celebration in all the streets of Cairo.

March 2011:  I get admitted to Fletcher!  More celebration.

June 2011 to August 2011:  The beginning of the end of my life in Cairo, final exams and thesis writing, and then a trip to Bali for an annual meeting with an international peace-building organization I volunteer for.  Finally, at the end of August, I move into Blakeley Hall!

Despite being far from Egypt, I felt at home at Fletcher right away.   Between the exciting stories my fellow Fletcherians tell, and the numerous courses to choose from, I feel like a kid in a candy shop!