Following my studies at Oxford, I started working for CARE as a Programme Officer for Iraq, after I had completed short assignments with the Danish Refugee Council in Mali and the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Germany.

While based in Germany, my current position with CARE involves a lot of travel to support the operation in Iraq – sometimes for multiple months at a time. I devise, amongst other things, projects and programmes to support internally displaced people returning to areas recaptured from the so-calledIslamic State, such as Mosul; work that is oftentimes very challenging as it requires you to adjust or adapt, given the intricacies of a society that has struggled with decades of violent conflict and is still deeply affected by it.

Working on solutions for people who are forced to flee, and supporting people in conflict and crises more generally, is something I am very passionate about. This is also why from this November onwards I will be working as a Programme Officer with the United

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Tehran to support its efforts to find solutions for Afghan refugees in Iran who have been living there for decades.

I look back very fondly on my year in Oxford, a year that was densely rich in academic learning but also incredibly rich in inputs from practitioners and scholars alike, on which I still draw in my work. Being able to learn from such dedicated and passionate scholars

at the Refugee Studies Centre is something I am particularly grateful for. I am also immensely grateful for the Linacre College community, which not only provided me with a nurturing and supportive environment during my time in Oxford, but also generously supported my studies through the Ronald & Jane Olson Scholarship in Refugee Studies.