Alumni News

Stay updated on the activities and experiences of our Arabic program’s alumni!

Anushah Hassan (class of 2020)

Anushah graduated with a major in Business Administration: Accounting and a Minor in Arabic Studies. She is currently working as Federal Auditor for KPMG, a public accounting firm. She served as the President of the Arab Culture Club in 2020 which gave her valuable skills that help her in her career today, like communication, time management, and organization.

Mackenzie Poust (class of 2019)

Mackenzie graduated from UMW with a degree in Religious Studies and Middle Eastern Studies, and she completed Arabic to the advanced level. She is currently a graduate student at Georgetown University, pursuing a Master of Arts in Arabic Studies. She served as the President of the Arab Culture Club in 2019, and her time in this position helped her to gain confidence in working with others, improved her organization skills, and inspired her current academic interest.

Anna Krus (class of 2019)

Anna graduated with BA in International Affairs Studies and studied Arabic through the Intermediate Level. She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Education and ESL bilingual ed. The UMW Arabic program gave her the skills and the confidence to live in Jordan and discover her love of teaching. With a passion for Social Studies, culture, and language learners, the Arabic language program equipped her to pursue her dreams.

Catriona Cobb (class of 2018)

“Deciding to study Arabic was a life-changing experience for me. When I came to UMW with the intention of studying biology but chose Arabic on a whim since Latin classes were full. I quickly fell in love with the language and hungered to learn more about the Arab world and its culture. This led me to study international affairs and opened me up to a whole new (literal) world of possibilities. I just finished my M.A. at John Hopkins SAIS, where I was able to do field research in Amman, Jordan, on higher education reform. Now I will be working as a government contractor focusing on North Africa and utilizing Arabic in my research.”

Marjahn Goodman (class of 2014) 

Marjahn graduated UMW with a major in International Relations and completed Arabic to the advanced level. Learning Arabic gave her the opportunity to study abroad in Amman, Jordan where she was fully immersed in the rich Arab culture and Arabic language. She is currently working as a Consultant for IT and corporate real estate consulting firm. As a globally engaged and connected citizen she is able to interact with clients from around the world confidently and seamlessly.