Adviser: Dr. Kelly McFarland, Director of Programs and Research, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy

Research topic: Exchanging Words for Bodies: The Effects of Diplomacy on Conditions of Migrant Workers in the Middle East

Zoya Waliany is a graduate student in the Master of Arts in Arab Studies (MAAS) program. Her research interests include gender, empire, transnational labor migration, and Middle Eastern and South Asian studies. Prior to joining MAAS, Zoya spent two years working at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs supporting its civil society programs in Lebanon, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia. She received a Boren Scholarship to study Arabic in Alexandria, Egypt, from 2012-2013 with the Arabic Flagship Program. She holds a B.A. in Plan II Honors and Government from The University of Texas at Austin.