Atussa Mohtasham (2018)

Atussa (class of 2018) is studying Literature and German Studies and minoring in Global Studies with a concentration in Iranian Studies. She chose to minor in Iranian Studies because the program enables her to gain an interdisciplinaryperspective on Iranian civilization: "As a student of literature interested in literary modernity across cultures, including German and Iranian, the Iranian Studies minor provides an excellent supplement. It equips me with the linguistic skills and the cultural understanding crucial for me as I develop a comparative perspective on world literatures," Atussa explains. 

"Throughout my time here, Stanford has repeatedly astonished me with the amount of resources and opportunities it offers to its students. I’ve learned that it’s up to the student to seek out the resources necessary to fulfill her academic goals." 

Accordingly, Atussa was interested in studying the ancient Avestan language and sought out a professor on campus she could do an independent study with. Through student funding received from the Iranian Studies Program she is able to study Avestan and is "looking forwad to gaining a rich understanding of Iran and building a foundation for [her] future graduate studies in Comparative Literature."