Hello! My name is Rania Chehaitli, and I am from Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. I grew up dancing and playing cello along with some other instruments, which inspire my artistic hobbies now! I love to see theater shows, like ballets, operas, and orchestras! I also enjoy reading, sewing, and watching movies. My father’s side of my family is from Lebanon, a country in the Middle East. My whole life, I have traveled between Lebanon and Florida to see both sides of my family. I saw lots of differences between Lebanon and the USA, but what stood out most was that there were many refugees from countries close to Lebanon. Refugees are people who have had to leave their home countries because war or other reasons made it unsafe for them to live there.
This could be because they lost their homes, can’t go to school, don’t have food or doctors, or other reasons. I became interested in human rights, which are the standards many countries agree are necessary for people to be safe, happy, and healthy. Every person deserves to be safe! Human rights lawyers make sure that every person has what they need to live a good life.
I knew I wanted to help people in this way since I was very young, and saw what it was like for people to not have safety. I wanted to travel to a new country to study human rights law to see how different governments treated the idea of human rights and helped to define it. I think learning about this in as many places as I can will help me form the best ideas of how to make sure every person is able to have their basic needs met, making sure they have food, water, shelter, schools, and doctors, no matter where they are in the world. I studied Political Science and International Affairs in my Bachelor’s degree at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. I hope to continue to build upon what I learned there through the program at Ulster University in Belfast, while getting to understand Irish culture and travel throughout this beautiful country!
Want to learn how you could be a Fulbright Scholar like me? The Fulbright Program is the United States government's flagship international exchange program. Fulbrighters foster mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, share knowledge across communities, and improve lives around the world. Learn more by clicking here!
