A Note from Mr. Ewing, Shahin's Teacher

Shahin is an intellectual who is passionate about law, government and politics. He has demonstrated a keen interest in those subjects, and he will be able to further those interests in the Yale Young Global Scholars program. He has extraordinary initiative, ranging from starting clubs on campus to developing his own nonprofits. The program itself will benefit from Shahin's participation.

Shahin has a passion for law, government and politics. He is currently taking advantage of the UCONN Early College Experience (ECE) English 1010 class that I teach called "Sustainable Democratic Societies." In this semester-long, writing-intensive and discussion-based class requiring thirty pages of revised writing, students are presented with equivocal prompts for which they must choose a topic and develop a claim. Shahin has written two papers tackling issues of government and economy. In the first paper, he argued persuasively that the founding principles of our country demand immediate campaign finance reform. in the second paper, he contemplated the demise of the American Dream in light of rising economic inequality. Both papers were well-composed and well-researched, clearly the best in the class. Furthermore, Shahin's drive for excellence is not limited to the classroom. Where there is not a program, he will create one. I am aware of Shahin's extracurricular activities because I moderate the Model UN club that he founded on campus. As president of this organization, he is responsible for recruiting members, presiding over weekly meetings, and shaping the overall direction of this fledgling club. In addition, Shahin is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Router, which is our campus?s first newspaper. After four years, we finally have one due to Shahin's persistence.