When Rim Marghli accepted the position as a Foreign Language Teacher Assistant through the Fulbright Program, she had no idea that it would lead to her receiving a master’s degree from Jackson State University.
The native of La Chebba, Tunisia will graduate with a Master’s Degree in English but her goals extend far beyond the classroom. Although both of her degrees will be in English, she has a passion for international relations and foreign development.
“I’m an advocate for awakening,” says Marghli. “People are asleep and don’t know (anything) about what’s going on around them. Whenever I have the chance, I try to get people’s attention to help them see that there is a world outside of the United States. There’s a world outside your community and outside of what you think is right or wrong.”
Marghli says she wants to be a source of positive change in the world after she graduates.
“I’m going to try to find a job and get a Ph.D., but it won’t be in English,” Marghli says.
She has not decided where she will attend school, but she says that she will study either international relations or conflict resolutions.
“My former boss used to tell me, ‘Rim, you’re going to be a politician but you’re going to be a pretty radical one,” she said. “I feel like I’m going to cause some conflicts and hire somebody to find the resolutions,” she said jokingly.
For now, Marghli will teach English, although Arabic is her native language. She speaks three other languages besides Arabic.
Marghli says her parents never expected her to take the educational path that she did. Her mother is a genetic engineer and her father is a chief accountant.
“You have to follow your heart in things,” says Marghli.
–Darrell Robinson, Jr.