Happy Wednesday, folks! My name is Shareen El Naga, and I am ecstatic to join Novel Hand as a contributor.
For starters, I am a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Public Policy and Political Science with a minor in Spanish. That wasn’t always my path, though. If you would have asked me what I would have been five years ago from today, I would have answered something like “Physician Assistant” or “Biologist”. Don’t get me wrong, I have an immense amount of respect for the folks in these fields, but I just simply realized that my passion laid elsewhere.
Now, as a senior in college, I feel that the opportunity to join Novel Hand came at the perfect time. However, I would be remiss not to mention how the pandemic along with national unrest has oftentimes left me feeling hopeless about the future. But, after learning about Novel Hand’s mission, I felt empowered knowing that it is my generation, along with the ones after me, who will be tasked and responsible for creating future solutions to some of the gravest issues confronting our century. That is a major part of the reason why I joined Novel Hand. The other reason why I feel that the opportunity to write for Novel Hand came at the most opportune time is that I also understand the importance and power of sharing stories; and, as a woman of color and immigrant, I feel an even greater sense of urgency to share my story, along with others who have marginalized identities too.
For these reasons and more, I am most excited to contribute to Novel Hand’s categories on Racial Justice, Refugees & Immigration, Education, and Health. Throughout my career at UNC, I have taken several classes critical to my understanding and knowledge on these topics, including but not limited to the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, World Globalization, Intersectionality in Public Policy, and Politics on Immigration and Refugees. I also, not surprisingly, took a bunch of science and health-related courses, because I was a Biology major up until my Junior year when I realized that my passion laid in activism and social justice work (that’s not to say that one can’t do both, though!).
On a lighter note about me, I consider myself to have international roots–my mother is from the Philippines and my father is from Egypt–but I like to call Raleigh, North Carolina home. I am a lover of music, traveling, art, plants, cooking, and human connection. This pandemic has also allowed me to (mostly) fulfill my innate love for sleeping; it’s a great way to pass the time these days. Oh- also, my biggest soft spots are for my German Shepard, Ramses, and my Tabby Cat, Rajah. If you knew them, you’d have soft spots for them too!
The opportunity to write stories for you, I already know, will be a humbling and enriching experience. Thank you in advance for not only just reading my stories-along with those of my bright peers-but for also caring about the solutions we intend to propose to create a future worth living for.
If anyone is interested in connecting with me, you can reach me at shareen@live.unc.edu.
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