Student Highlights

“My internship with Professor Masoud was a great opportunity and learning experience. Working with statistical computer software, I sharpened my quantitative skills and learned so much by examining the relationship between Islamist parties, political institutions, and democracy worldwide.”

Belfer Center Summer Program Intern Tianyu Qiao, AM 2023

My name is Howaida Mahmoud Barakat. I’m from Egypt. Being a Harvard graduate was a dream that I kept in my heart for more than 20 years. I never thought I was good enough to get admitted to such a world class university. In December 2020, after much thought, I decided to apply to the Mid-Career Master’s in Public Administration Program. My decision was fortified by my desire to find answers to the many questions that working in the public sector poses. For me it was, the bigger the challenges, the more the insistence to become an agent of change in my country. Spending a year with some of the most impressive, world-leading professors that I could ever come across certainly helped me shift my thinking. Being a colleague to people who have chosen to dedicate their lives to causes such as environment, alleviating poverty and combating inequality inspired me and revived the hope inside me for a better future. I’m grateful for the opportunities Harvard Kennedy School has given me. After graduation and returning to my home country, I decided to share the knowledge I acquired and teach others what I have learned. Education is freedom and is the most powerful tool to make positive change. When you teach youth, you give them the tools to shape their future the way they aspire. I joined academia and made instruction my profession—not just a hobby as it used to be before.