Intern Stories

intern stories

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  Raahima Bukhari

  Research Intern, 2016

  Raahima Bukhari is a Research Intern at the Al Qasimi Foundation. She moved to Ras Al Khaimah in 2014 from the emirate of Sharjah. She is currently an undergraduate pre-medical student at Stony Brook University, New York where she is pursuing a bachelor’s of degree in health science with a concentration in emergency and critical care.

  On campus, Raahima is involved in other projects. She volunteered in the orientation and family department as an International Student Ambassador from 2015-2016, through which she welcomed and introduced incoming international freshmen to the campus community and then rose to become a team captain in 2016. Additionally, Raahima works for the admissions department as a campus tour guide.

  Raahima loves the diverse culture that the UAE has to offer and knows the local areas quite well. In her spare time, she likes to shop, try new restaurants, and practice sports such as badminton, swimming, and boxing. At Stony Brook University, she is part of a women-empowering program called pink-gloves boxing. She began as a student, and, after completing her training, she became an instructor for the program. Raahima appreciates the peaceful lifestyle in Ras Al Khaimah and looks forward to working with the Foundation.

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  Ananya Huria

  Community Engagement & Outreach Assistant

  Ananya Huria holds a dual bachelor of science in international business and entrepreneurship from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). She has been a research student at UNCG, producing studies on the topics of branding and entrepreneurship in international communities. Ananya is a true third-culture individual who has lived on more than three continents, four countries, and seven cities.

  Within the Foundation, she is involved with the Community Engagement and Outreach team, working on building and maintaining the digital and social media content and preparing for a communications study. Ananya is now an Events Coordinator, having completed her internship. 

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  Tessa Ayson

  Research Intern, 2015

  Tessa is a rising senior at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). She is studying economics with a concentration in psychology, writes for NYUAD’s newspaper, and is an editor at its Journal of Social Sciences. Tessa’s research interests lie primarily at the intersection of human behavior and economic models of decision-making, with a focus on the practical application of economics in sociological and policymaking contexts.

  Tessa is fascinated by education and education policy, especially in transitional societies and non-Western contexts. She has previously conducted public education research in Abu Dhabi. Tessa is excited to learn about education policy in the Gulf region through this internship and hopes to gain a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the schooling system in the northern emirates. In the future, Tessa plans to complete her senior thesis project on dictatorship and cooperation while gaining further sociological insights into the implications that human behavior has for economic and educational policy.

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  Aliz Toth

  Research Intern, 2015

  Aliz Toth is an undergraduate student at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), where she is majoring in political science. Her research interests lie at the intersection of political economy of development and globalization. In the future, she would like to explore the impact of an increasingly interconnected world, migration, and remittances on local governance, institutions, and economic development. During her studies, Aliz has also developed an interest in South Asia, and her senior research project will focus on the connections between labor migration and politics in that region.

  In the past, Aliz has helped to create various platforms through which students can discuss policymaking. She has been the Director of Global Villages at the Global Issues Network Conference in Abu Dhabi, for which she developed conference content and oversaw the organization of different committees. Currently, Aliz is an editor at the Journal of Social Sciences as well as a founding member for the Society of Global Development at NYUAD. During her time with the Al Qasimi Foundation, Aliz hopes to deepen her interests in education policy and to learn more about practices in policy research and evaluation.

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  Sahar ElAsad

  Research Associate

  Sahar ElAsad joins the Al Qasimi Foundation after interning in the research department in 2015 while she was a master’s student majoring in health policy research at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada.

  Sahar comes to the Foundation with strong clinical and psychological backgrounds. She graduated as a dentist from the University of Khartoum and holds a degree in behavioral psychology from Ryerson University. She also comes with experience in the non-governmental organization (NGO) sector, having worked with Oxfam Canada and Plan Canada.

  Sahar’s academic and research interests include improving health policies through evidence-based research and capacity building. She has contributed to research projects with the Foundation related to mental health and women’s health in the Gulf region. 

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