Student Spotlight: Jinseul Jun
Jinseul Jun (MAAS ’20) was a graduate in the Arab Studies program (MAAS) at Georgetown – School of Foreign Service, and a student fellow with the Global Health Initiative.
Tell us why are you interested in global health?
Global health is an arena where disability is widely discussed, but also where the complexities are often overlooked. I am interested in global health as the field allows me to challenge the underlying assumptions in a medical nexus between disability and health, and study the nuances of this seemingly uncontested nexus.
What are some global health events you have participated in on campus/in DC?
I was only introduced to global health events upon becoming a Global Health Initiative fellow this fall, and GHI fellowship has been a welcoming avenue for me to revisit my assumptions about “health” and “global health” as medical concepts, understand the interdisciplinary nature of global health, and explore potential opportunities for a collaboration with students and faculty members from other disciplines.
What activities are you involved with on campus?
I am involved with two activities on campus: 1) Disability Alliance Club - a new undergraduate club co-founded by Kiki and Anna. I support the group with human resources, and share my activism works other experiences (i.e. hosting events); and 2) Brown Bag Lunch Series. For the latter activity, I was awarded two grants from the Disability Studies Program to host a Brown Bag Lunch Series on “Disability and the Arab World.” The series seeks to explore disability as an issue of social justice and human diversity in the context of the Arab world and foster accessible, collaborative engagement and information exchange sharing between stakeholders.
What is your favorite part about being at Georgetown?
Supportive professors who take the time to meaningful engage with you in class as well as outside vis-à-vis emails and office hours and to connect you with relevant stakeholders and/or practitioners in the field of your interest.
Tell us about your educational and professional aspirations.
Although the area of my study does not directly cover disability-related issues, my personal/academic research interests focus on international human rights, disability rights law/policy, and other disability-related issues (including de-institutionalization, framing of disability and persons with disabilities in advocacy, and valuation of disabled life) in the context of the Arab world. I plan on applying for law school next year, in hopes to further my studies in disability law/policy to work in disability law and policy research, particularly in the Arab world.