Hi everyone, Hannah Bottarel here! I'm originally from a small town in Missouri but currently live in Cabot House. At this point, I would like my focus field to center around the concept of migration and human rights. I grew up with immigrant family members, and watching my dad's naturalization ceremony when I was 12-years-old initially sparked my interest in immigrant rights initiatives. I was able to work with an immigrant outreach NGO at the US/Mexico border last summer where I spent many nights providing migrants crossing the Rio Grande with food and water, listening to their stories, and seeing how broken the American immigration system is firsthand. Through these experiences, I’ve witnessed the several ways in which the human rights so eloquently laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are often not applied to communities of color, immigrants, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. As someone who plans to dedicate my career to serving those impacted by these human rights discrepancies, a focus field related to human rights and migration appears a perfect fit. Ideally, I’d like to conduct research on border-cities, analyzing migration and human rights through the lenses of history, government and philosophy. I’d like to further explore how morality plays a role in policy-making regarding migrants/refugees. Beyond my academic interests, I'm deeply involved in politics and public service work on campus—when not in the classroom, I spend almost all my time at the Institute of Politics where I serve as the Chair of the JFK Jr. Forum or around the yard giving tours and leading community outreach projects with Crimson Key. As an FGLI student, I understand how daunting a place Harvard can seem, but the Social Studies department has been an incredibly close-knit community of which I feel so lucky to be part! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I can't wait to meet you!