Interview with an International Politics Graduate Student

Published January 26, 2012

---

 

Jennifer Salcido is a second year MA student studying international politics at Regent University. She is especially interested in Middle Eastern politics and plans to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector as an advocate for religious freedom and women’s rights.

 

One thing Salcido values about her experience at Regent is how the Christian perspective is so deeply imbedded into the classes. Several of her core courses, such as Christian Foundations of Government, demonstrate that the faith of students and professors at Regent is not merely something they share in select classes devoted to Christianity or as something separate from the disciplines they study; it is part of everything they do. Salcido recalls frequent discussions about individual rights and responsibilities in a class focused on social issues and how they relate to government and the Christian worldview.

 

Regent also offers its students ample opportunities to put what they are learning in the classroom into practice, something that also holds special meaning for Salcido. She spent two months as an intern for a government department in Iraq, which greatly enhanced what she had already studied about Middle Eastern politics and culture. She spent 35 hours each week performing research duties, strengthening her research skills and deepening her understanding of the Iraqi government. She also attended conferences and gave several lectures for local students planning to attend college in the United States, offering advice on what they should expect at an American university as a foreign student. Most important for Salcido, though, was the time she spent volunteering at a local Christian organization. There, she witnessed first-hand the religious persecution many in the region face as well as the effects of Middle Eastern politics on the rights of women. These experiences only strengthened her resolve to work as a human rights advocate.