After spring break, I had a chance to talk with an alumnus, Suaida Firoze, when she came back to visit Clark after her graduation a year ago. It was just a brief conversation, but I learned so much about her and her interesting journey at Clark. She did a double major in Economics and Management, and is currently working towards her Masters in Management Studies at Duke University. Here is our conversation:
Anh: I have heard a lot about you from your friends before, and one interesting fact was that you had a chance to intern at Harvard Law School. How did that happen?
S: -smiles- So my junior internship was at Harvard Law School. Oh God- I was looking for an internship like a crazy person. I wanted to go to Law School back then, so I was thinking of working for a legal clinic. I was searching for stuff and Harvard Law popped up. I applied and got accepted. I worked for a housing clinic. Basically, they provide free legal assistance to low income renters. For instance, a lot of the times, big landlord or the landlord companies will try to ask you to move, or kick you out of your houses, evicting you. That is when clinics with lawyers or Harvard law students step in and try to represent tenants in court, help them negotiate with landlords so they don’t get kicked out, and help them find houses that government subsidizes. It is a non-profit.
A: Did you have previous experience before the internship?
S: So the summer before that, I was a Steinbrecher fellow, a fellowship that Clark gives out to help students pursue their projects. I went back to Bangladesh and did a project. I was working on writing a book based on the 40 victims of sexual violence who I interviewed, and I was working with a legal non-profit back then as well.
A: How did you find opportunities for internships? Any tips?
S: I looked online and used Career Services like everyone does. I also just stalked other people to see what they are doing, and professors and seniors do help. But mostly, just aggressively looking online and knowing what you want to do are really important.
A: What do you like most about Clark?
S: The people. It is very easy to make friends here, and friends become family, and I thought that is what happens to everyone everywhere, but I feel like it is more applicable for Clark.
A: Is there any friend or faculty that you really admire, or really like them?
S: I am trying to think, there are so many… I think for me the most interesting faculty was Professor Bigelow, my advisor. She is a Management professor, but she does so many other things that are not related to management at Clark, such as Difficult Dialogues, Diversity and Inclusion community, that focuses on race and gender issues. She did many cool things at Clark, although she does not have to, but she just does it to provide a safe space for students, which I thought that was really cool of her. She is smart and interesting. She is someone who you can talk to about anything, even if it is not her field.
A: How and why did you get married the same day as graduation?
S: I love how people keep asking me about this question. -smiles- Why? Because my husband’s family was arriving the night before and my family was leaving the day after, so we had to pick that Sunday. And how? I have no idea, I wish I knew. We planned about two weeks to a month. I just knew that I had to get it done. I had interviews, and finals, but it all just came together. I knew we would get married soon, but I do not know we would get it on my Graduation Day. Laugh.
A: Do you have other plans after Duke?
S: I have a job in New York city where I will work for Deloitte- a ‘big-four’ auditing firm. I will be a consultant for technological risk and enterprise risk.
A: Is there any memorable event at Clark that you want to share?
S: So many, right? -smiles- I am trying to think… I think this is one of my favorite first memories. So it was START on the street. I did not know what it was, but everyone was so excited about it. I walked with my friends to the event, and I was so amazed because in Bangladesh we have carnivals too where people try to sell crafts. But here, I really love that people appreciate it more and treat it like art and then sell it. It is not like giving it to me for cheaper, and people do not try to bargain because they appreciate the hard work. It was very different for me, and it was a good difference. The food was great, and it was such a nice environment which I could never had when I was back home. It felt really welcoming. The steak on the stick and chocolate covered frozen bananas were amazing.
A: Do you hope to see any changes at Clark?
S: I don’t know, but I heard from a lot of people that Clark is cutting funding for clubs. I hope that Clark can keep being what it is and what it is good at. Individual people coming out of Clark do have the potential to make an impact. Clark should work on making their experiences good so alumni like me can give back to Clark. Going to a school like Duke, I realized how important it is for alumni to care for and support you, because a huge part of why Duke is successful is because alumni want to make current students successful. So I hope that Clark can do that as well. Clark was fun for me because I had so many opportunities to do things, and I hope that Clark will be just as fun for everyone else that goes here. I think the easiest way to keep some alumni would be to not to delete our email accounts after 9 months and make it into something else instead. Clarkies would benefit from alumni mentorship. A lot of alumni want to help you, but they do not know how to reach out to you.
A: Is there any last piece that you want to share?
S: Clark is an amazing place if you want it to be. I feel like we take it for granted. As soon as you get out of it, you realize that Clark was sheltering you from the real world. You should have been happier then. This is like home for me.
Suaida
(Source: Hasini Assiriyage)
