Hello beloved readers! My name is Annabelle and I am so excited to be Novel Hand’s newest contributor!
I am a soon-to-be senior at Vanderbilt University pursuing a double major in Law, History, and Society and Sociology, as well as a minor in English. I am from Manhattan Beach, California (a small little beach town 30 minutes outside of Los Angeles) and although I never learned to surf, I love living five minutes from the beach. For me, some of the best things in life are thrift shopping, horror movies, hiking, and pasta. I also like attempting to learn songs on my ukulele, only to horribly mess up, and discovering my favorite newest altronica songs.
I spent my sophomore year as an advocate intern at the Jean Crowe Advocacy Center in Nashville, which was the experience that initially sparked my passion for social justice and later confirmed that I want to dedicate my career to this type of work. Here, I mainly worked with victims of domestic violence, both in center and in court. Being able to provide people in need with protective services was an incredibly rewarding experience and it is something I want to translate into my work with Novel Hand.
As a young adult about to finish college and preparing to enter the professional world, I think it is extremely important to both be educated and conscious of the world around us so that we can be more intentional about our choices. Whether that means we are directly volunteering, spreading our knowledge to others, or making small changes in our own lifestyles, there are so many ways to get involved with meaningful causes. I will be sharing what I learned and am learning throughout my college and work experiences and what I think we should keep in mind in terms of advocacy on Novel Hand.
Some of the groups and issues I will be focusing on will be victims of domestic violence and the criminal justice system. In addition, I will also be doing some writing about immigrants and some of the ways in which we can engage with this community. I am so excited to be writing on the topics that I am most passionate about and would love to hear your thoughts, questions, and/or feedback! Feel free to email me at annabelle.r.mirhashemi@vanderbilt.edu 🙂
- Women’s History Month: Pioneers in the Fight Against Domestic Violence - March 11, 2022
- Language and Logic: The Threat of Deportation in the U.S. Immigration System - December 16, 2021
- No One is Illegal: Representation and Rights in Today’s Immigration Courts - August 26, 2021