Though Kirsten Mullin’s postgraduate plans are taking her to another continent, it won’t be her first time far from home. A recipient of the MENAR Fellowship Program, Mullin will travel to Tunis, Tunisia where she will teach at the École Canadienne de Tunis (The Canadian School of Tunis). The political science major was inspired to apply to MENAR, following a summer spent in Sefrou, Morocco on a Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) internship.
“I worked with a women’s cooperative and taught French and computer classes at a local women’s center,” said Mullin. “The experience was my first time extensively traveling outside of the United States, and I immediately fell in love with long term traveling—I’ve felt that it has given me the ability to learn the culture, language, and people the best.”
In addition to her time abroad, Mullin’s interest in international concerns was further cultivated by her recent course load, which included classes on French and international development, as well as a course required of all CPGC interns upon their return to campus, which seeks to enrich and further the education that began off-campus.
“We talked a lot about the dangers of programs that promote ‘voluntourism’ and the importance of sustainability in international development,” said Mullin. “That class is part of the reason I was drawn to a program like the MENAR fellowship… It was clear to me through the interviews that there would be continuity between myself and the previous fellow and that the school genuinely wanted a fellow to be placed there.”
École Canadienne de Tunis promises to be an excellent opportunity for Mullin to continue a conscientious development of an international education. The school teaches classes in French, English, and Arabic. Mullin is already practiced in the first two languages, but is eager to learn a third as she assists students in learning English.
Reflecting on the path that’s brought her where she is, Mullin said, “I don’t think I would have ever been interested in Tunisia had I not spent time in Morocco, and I could not have gone there without the CPGC.”
“Where They’re Headed” is a blog series chronicling the post-collegiate plans of recent Haverford graduates.