AAAS Advising Event Promotes Concentration

Upperclassmen and freshmen alike were drawn to the African and African American Studies Advising Fortnight event “Savoring Success” on Wednesday evening, which used alumni stories to inform potential concentrators about career opportunities open to undergraduates who study in the department.

Naseemah Y. Mohamed ’12, a joint social studies and AAAS concentrator, was one of four alumni featured in a video describing the range of careers that AAAS concentrators pursue. Mohamed described studying AAAS as “the highlight of my Harvard experience.”

One of the biggest advantages of the concentration, she said, was the opportunity to write a “social engagement” thesis, which requires seniors to complete on-the-ground research on social projects.

Mohamed said her thesis on Zimbabwe’s educational system may have helped her win a Rhodes Scholarship, with which she will study comparative and international education policy at Oxford this coming fall.

“I think doing the ‘social engagement’ thesis set me apart from other candidates,” she said.

Some alumni speakers also presented in person about the advantages their degrees have provided.

Enoch O. Woodhouse ’07, who worked in finance and now works on education reform with Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools, said the AAAS department provides “absolutely unrivaled” attention from professors who are “celebrities in their fields.”

The concentration designed the event to give students “tangible examples” of the opportunities available to AAAS concentrators, according to AAAS Director of Undergraduate Studies Tommie Shelby. He said it also addressed potential concentrators’ concerns that an AAAS degree might prevent them from finding a job after graduating.

Students said that message hit home.

“The value of the experience is different from the typical Harvard experience,” said Sarah F. Cole ’16 of what she learned about the department.

Alumni also stressed the uniqueness and intimacy of the program. According to former concentrator David A. Wallach ’07, who is now a recording artist, the AAAS concentration is the “least pretentious and the coolest” at Harvard.