 I've been involved with the IGL since my freshman year and I have really enjoyed being able to be part of the IGL community because it has not only given me so many opportunities to pursue interests and research regarding the Middle East and North Africa region but it has also created relationships and friendships between students who are also interested in similar areas of study as I am. Throughout my time at Tufts the IGL has been such an important resource for me. Not only does it focus on providing students with research opportunities and avenues for experiential learning but it's really fostered a great community for me to explore my passions in international relations and meet other great students at Tufts. And of course, studying international relations makes me realize that problems around the world do not nearly fit into a box and the IGL's interdisciplinary approach really complements the mission of Tufts University quite well. Being a part of the Middle East research group and now leading it has been an incredibly valuable experience in building my leadership skills, my organization skills and planning and also feeling connected to the Tufts campus as a whole. The IGL offers a lot of alumni engagement events connecting us to people who went to IGL just like we did but also have been working in the field of international relations for a very long time. Talking to these alumni and involving myself in these events really helped me understand how I could make an impact with my potential careers going into the future. I'm really grateful to have access to a place like that at Tufts because it just inspires me as a learner and makes me want to continue my studies. I just hope that going forward the IGL will continue to be able to expand its mission to bring in more students of different interests and backgrounds to collaborate together on interests relating to engaging with the world around us.