After what she calls “four extremely transformative years” at Haverford, Maria Bojorquez-Gomez ’16 will spend the next year of her life in Seattle serving as a Quaker Experimental Service and Training (QuEST) fellow. Starting the first week of September, she will be working for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), interviewing immigrants to determine their eligibility for NWIRP’s legal services and living with five other QuEST fellows in a Quaker house.
At Haverford, Bojorquez-Gomez was a political science major, a Chinese minor, and had a concentration in peace, justice, and human rights (PJHR). For one PJHR course, she researched death in the Sonoran Desert, near the United States-Mexico border, which inspired her to take part in the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship’s (CPGC) Borderlands Field Study during last winter break.
“Both experiences inspired me to pursue the QuEST fellowship, as it will allow me to get involved in immigration issues and the field of law,” says Bojorquez-Gomez.
Her interest in immigration issues was stoked by the “Human Rights and the Dead” course that was taught by Visiting Professor Adam Rosenblatt. Associate Professor of Political Science Craig Borowiak’s “Politics and Globalization” course, along with the influence of Associate Professor and Director of PJHR Jill Stauffer, added to Bojorquez-Gomez’s interest in working in international affairs and human rights.
Bojorquez-Gomez hopes to eventually pursue a master’s degree, and is currently waiting to hear back from Zhejiang University in China, where she would matriculate in the China studies graduate program. She aspires to work for the American government in East Asia for a few years, and then to return to the United States to work in Washington, D.C. After that, with “international experience and various languages, I may one day run for office in California, my home state.”
As for her upcoming fellowship, she feels well prepared by Haverford for her for opportunity with QuEST, and is greatly appreciative of the College’s staff and faculty for guiding her during her time as an undergraduate.
“I believe that Haverford’s way of creating community has definitely influenced the way I relate and work with people,” she said. “I feel more confident in myself, and am more aware of social issues and world complexities, which allows me to better collaborate with others.”
Photo: Patrick Montero
“Where They’re Headed” is a blog series reporting on the post-collegiate plans of recent Haverford graduates.