Undergraduate Zuhrat Inam takes inspiration from her mother’s words: “Everyone has something to give to the world—something bigger than just yourself.”
As an international student from Bangladesh, she believes that her origins in the global south affect how she approaches world issues.
When Inam was growing up, her mother was the country director for an international nongovernmental organization, and she is now the country director for another. Her mother’s career exposed Inam to social inequalities and the ways ordinary people can help.
“In the US ... we tend to be detached from it,” Inam explains, “but everyone has a role to play to help others.”
When Inam first came to the University of Minnesota, she was prepared to get a degree in economics. Then she enrolled in Professor Ronald Krebs' Global Politics course.
“That was the deciding factor for me,” Inam says, and she soon declared a second major in political science.
Along with Professor Krebs, Inam has worked with Professor Cossette Creamer through a program in the political science department where undergraduate students conduct research with a professor. Inam researched World Trade Organization disputes and how countries implement the WTO’s rulings into their domestic legislation.
“The research I did with her—how international rulings can have an effect on domestic politics—really hit home,” Inam says.
Inam is primarily interested in international human rights, and she has been able to explore this subject further through an internship with the nonprofit World Without Genocide, studying the alarming cases of missing and murdered indigenous women in the US and Canada.
Her experience at World Without Genocide has only reinforced her future plans.
“You know how they say you have a calling in life? As cliché as that is, this is what it is for me: advocacy and policy design and research in these areas,” Inam says.
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