by Alyssa Nehring — As Mohana Rajakumar’s Dimmitt Fellowship comes to an end, she will start her last week with a lecture on Tuesday night about what American’s can learn from living abroad.
Reflecting on her own experiences, Rajakumar describes growing up in an Indian family in America. She often felt like she was living two worlds. Outside of the household, she was becoming an American, but in her home, her parents very much made it feel like they were still living in India. Restricted from going to football games, sleepovers, and prom while growing up, she said, “I was fighting for my life to be an American. I didn’t understand why my parents brought me here if not to be an American.”
Rajakumar went on to explain her desire to move to Qatar, a country that she had never even visited before. “Through the impulse of wanting an adventure, pushing myself outside my person boundary” She also had taken a course about Islamic women and wished to learn more about the culture in order to accurately write short stories and books based in an Arabic region.
Through her experiences in traveling, she encourages students to put themselves in uncomfortable situations. These situations, as she explains, are the point in which one grows and learns. Lexa Rahn said, “I have traveled aboard and I’ve definitely experienced those moments that push you. They are some of my most memorable moments of the trip.”
Rajakumar went on to explain the culture that we live in today often causes us to withdraw into ourselves. If we don’t force ourselves to be engaged, the world will move on without us. “People like me, the ones out in the trenches working have put a lot of faith into the college-aged thinker,” explained Rajakumar, “You [college student] need to be innovative and reverse the tide.”
If you are interested in learning more about Rajakumar’s visit, please contact Dr. Christina Triezenberg, Assistant Professor of English, via email at triezenbergc@morningside.edu. Rajakumar’s fellowship is partially funded by a grant from Humanities Iowa.
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