Hamida Owusu

Class of 2010

I am a senior from Upstate New York, concentrating in African

Studies with a secondary field in Government. My interests

range from interfaith relations on the continent to the

mobilization of vernacular languages as a method for

encouraging and enhancing social and political participation. I

recently returned from a semester abroad at the University of

Ghana, where I studied higher-level Twi Language, as well as

development and conflict studies. My experiences in the

department and the issues I have learned about and

considered in the African context, such as race and social

theory, development, linguistic human rights, gender, and

politics, have shaped so many of my perspectives and have

contributed to my desire to pursue a career in International Law

and Human Rights. The African Language Program (through

which I have studied Hausa and completed a citation in Twi)

has been the highlight of my time in the department, and I hope

to continue to promote the importance of African languages as

a part of my broader interests in social justice policy advocacy

and public and legal outreach.

You can read a little more about working to change U.S.-Africa

policy on the blog I contributed to while interning for Africa

Action this past summer, the oldest nonprofit in the U.S.

working on African affairs.