Farah Nousheen

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“I have ideas that push boundaries, and I then focus and work hard and follow through to the end to accomplish what I set out to do. This approach to life has been infused in my personal, professional, creative and academic goals. My ideas are not about making a lot of money or having a successful career, but rather of making an aspect of the world a more just and open place with a diversity of voices.”

  • Program: 2010 Graduate Scholarship Recipient
  • Resides: Albuquerque, NM
  • Hometown: Seattle, WA
  • Age: 39

Biography

 

PROFILE: Farah Nousheen has a passion for knowledge, arts, social justice, and community. She’s also a courageous woman unafraid of challenging something unfair or unjust. Asked of a pivotal moment in her life that affected her career path and ambitions, Farah gave the exact date: “September 11, 2001, was a pivotal moment in my life when I evolved from working for personal and familial betterment to working for societal betterment,” she said. “Since 9/11, I have explored academic paths in film, educational equity, postcolonial literature, Islam, South Asian area studies and indigenous studies looking for ways in which I contribute best towards a better world.” Born in India, raised in Chicago, and having settled in Seattle, Farah’s goals include teaching American Studies or a related field at the college level. As a community college student, Farah gained international acclaim when she produced a video "Nazrah, A Muslim Women's Perspective,” featuring Muslim Americans speaking on a range of subjects.

INSPIRATION: Karen Stuhldreher of North Seattle Community College was Farah’s Women’s Studies teacher when she began her college career. During her first quarter, Farah asked her if she could show her documentary in her class, “Karen agreed and during the rest of the time at the college, she was my mentor, employer, teacher, and she even helped to organize my baby shower.” After she transferred to the University of Washington, Professor Stuhldreher continued to arrange speaking engagements for the documentary, provided feedback on Farah’s senior thesis paper, and gave her parenting advice for “raising a son in a patriarchal society.”  

ASPIRATION: Farah asks: “What is America and what is my place in it?” In the mid-60s as the counter-culture movement swept America, Paul Simon wrote a song called “America.” Each verse ends: “I’ve gone off to look for America.” Farah, who hopes to teach American cultural studies, admits as a South Asian Muslim American woman, she needs to look for and figure out where she fits into the 2010 America. In graduate school, Farah plans to research and analyze America’s history, culture, politics and people for the many answers to her complex and simple question.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Farah is most proud of her thesis which investigated the issue of anti-racist pedagogy taking place at a large research university. Initially, the result was to be a video on how students of color experience race in classroom dialogue in a predominantly-white learning community. Instead, she composed an 80-page qualitative research report recognized by various departments within the university for its methodology and findings.

ACCOLADES: Farah received the North Seattle Community College Foundation Grant; the University of Washington Mary Gates Research Grant and the Academic Excellence Award. She also won an Official Film Selection in World Social Forum award in 2005, and an award at the Other Worlds are Breathing travelling film festival. Farah has presented her research at conferences including Feminism and Religion, Critical Race Studies in Education, and Dialoguing Difference.

INTERESTING FACT: Farah went to massage school. She earned a license, but neither practiced, nor pursued it further. Though enjoyable, “it was not the right profession for me,” she exclaimed.

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