Saraphin Dhanani ’16

Albright Fellow 2016

During her fall semester of junior year, Saraphin studied abroad in New York, Chile, Jordan, and Nepal through the International Honors Program on Human Rights, where she explored historical, social, and political contexts of human rights violations in each of the four countries. Her final comparative research paper analyzed the challenges of promoting democracy in societies with sectarian influences, and the role of mosques and churches in preserving the human rights of refugee populations. Saraphin has also spent her summers interning at the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington D.C., at the White House in the Office of the Vice President, and at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. On campus, Saraphin is one of two student representatives on President Bottomly's Commission on Equity, Race, and Ethnicity and has held leadership roles in Asian/Asian American organizations on campus. She is also involved in Wellesley's literary society, Society Zeta Alpha, and the Multifaith Council as the Ismaili Muslim Representative. She is passionate about the US's efforts in countering violent extremism, as well as the dialogue and diplomacy efforts between the United States and Muslim majority countries. She hopes to one day serve as an intermediary between the two worlds in a post 9/11 era.