2016 Entering Class Profiles

Zareera Bukhari, 2018, Pakistan

Why Fletcher: I chose Fletcher because it was the only program that allowed me the opportunity to merge my interests in international finance and economic security while also giving me a global perspective. I also feel there is so much flexibility in the multidisciplinary program at Fletcher for any array of interests, encompassing fields such as environmental advocacy, political risk, development economics, and foreign policy. The opportunities for merging diverse ideas, conducting intensive research under the guidance of world-renowned experts and excelling in niche career paths is unrivaled. I also felt I would benefit from working with a diverse cohort of talented individuals in a program that concentrates on learning from different experiences and perspectives. I come from a region of the world where many pressing issues are caused by failures to celebrate diversity and difference, and this element of community was extremely important to me.

On Fletcher’s Global Perspective: In a very short amount of time, Fletcher has changed how I look at the world. It seems a lot smaller, because so much of it can be represented by the experiences, aspirations, ideas and backgrounds of my friends and classmates. At the same time, it seems so much vaster than anything I could have imagined because every story of home that a new friend shares is one more life-changing moment that I’m alien to and wish to experience myself. I think this is as crucial an element of the learning process at Fletcher as the curriculum, which in turn teaches you how to place national challenges within a global framework and think beyond the processes you might have been used to. It is not unusual to find yourself studying a complex regional issue with the other members of your research group being from countries facing the flipside of the same problem. The world therefore seems a lot more interconnected and I have learned to think of solutions to complex issues from many different perspectives.