![\"Photographer\"](\"http:\/\/umwwebmaster.wpengine.com\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/Tikriti-8.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cI feel I can lecture more effectively about countries I\u2019ve worked in,\u201d said Al-Tikriti, associate professor of history and American studies who has taught at UMW since 2004. \u201cYou can learn a lot quite quickly when you\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\nAn Iraqi American and consummate New Orleanian, Al-Tikriti has traveled to more than 50 countries as professor, election observer and relief worker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess you can say I have three careers going on at once,\u201d said Al-Tikriti, who has studied six languages, lectures internationally and provides commentary to international media.<\/p>\n
His original scholarly interest in Arab studies began as a \u201crootsie\u201d curiosity. His Iraqi father immigrated to the U.S. in the \u201960s as a graduate student and settled in New Orleans, where he met an Air Force colonel\u2019s daughter studying for a biology doctorate, and where the younger Al-Tikriti was born and raised.<\/p>\n
At first, Al-Tikriti aimed for a diplomatic career, graduating from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He then earned a master\u2019s degree in international relations from Columbia University, where he became intrigued by international economic development and relief work.<\/p>\n
Al-Tikriti began a career in international relief with Catholic Relief Services in Iraq in the early \u201990s, then gravitated to the international medical humanitarian aid organization M\u00e9decins sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF-Doctors Without Borders), which took him to Somalia, Iran, Albania, Turkey, Jordan and Syria. As a field administrator, he negotiated with community leaders; served as liaison with United Nations, nongovernmental organizations and local government personnel; and dealt with staff personnel issues in a war zone.<\/p>\n
Along the way, he decided to study further, eventually completing a doctorate in Ottoman History at the University of Chicago\u2019s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He considers that experience the most difficult mental and psychological challenge he\u2019s faced.<\/p>\n
He continues his work today. Since 2011, he\u2019s served on the MSF-USA Board of Directors and was gratified to be a member of the organization when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. He joined an MSF team on a humanitarian mission to Syria in 2013, and, for a month this summer, is volunteering as a cultural facilitator on the MSF relief ship which has already rescued hundreds from the Mediterranean waters off of Libya.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stories individuals told us about simply trying to reach the Mediterranean, combined with the risks they faced once on the sea, really showed me how dangerous life can be when you\u2019re poor and carrying the wrong passport,\u201d said Al-Tikriti.<\/p>\n
In Ukraine, he understood the angst voters experienced after the 2014 revolution that resulted in the ousting of the then President Viktor Yanukovych.<\/p>\n “Where I was, they felt the elections were about the survival of the country,” he said. “It was very emotional.”<\/p>\n When the polls closed on the final day, revelers played Ukraine\u2019s national anthem and voters cried.<\/p>\n These firsthand accounts make current events come alive for his students. Junior history major Megan Connor said Al-Tikriti\u2019s classes have broadened her view of the world and history.<\/p>\n \u201cProfessor Al-Tikriti was the first professor who included non-western topics into [a history] syllabus, said Connor, who got hooked on history after Al-Tikriti\u2019s history of genocides course her freshman year. \u201cHe has extensive knowledge about the subject matter as well as real life experience, particularly in the topic of humanitarianism.\u201d<\/p>\n Al-Tikriti\u2019s mentoring extends beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s always willing to go the extra mile for his students,\u201d said Connor.<\/p>\n Perhaps his most notable counsel at UMW is in assisting students and faculty in securing prestigious Fulbright<\/a> grants for international study. Since he started advising in 2006, 13 students have received the scholarships, prompting Mary Washington\u2019s recognition as a top producer of Fulbright scholars by the Chronicle of Higher Education<\/a>. The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the Department of State, is the nation\u2019s flagship international exchange program.<\/p>\n A two-time Fulbright recipient himself, Al-Tikriti understands the exceptional opportunity the grants provide for research and networking around the world and has set up a committee that supports grant-seekers through the application and interview process.<\/p>\n One such scholar, Eric Halsey \u201911, credits Al-Tikriti with encouraging him to apply for a Fulbright, even though he was never able to take one of his classes and had already graduated.<\/p>\n The experience opened a world of possibilities for Halsey who studied in Bulgaria in 2012.<\/p>\n \u201cProfessor Al-Tikriti showed me that the life I’m living now is possible,\u201d said Halsey a digital marketing specialist for Hop Online in Sofia, Bulgaria.\u00a0 Like his mentor, Halsey juggles multiple interests. In addition to his career, he gives private lessons in English and history, creates Bulgarian podcasts and provides political and historical commentary for Bulgarian radio and TV.<\/p>\n He still keeps in close contact with his adviser. Like a proud father, Al-Tikriti respects his students\u2019 accomplishments. And he\u2019s quick to offer unsolicited advice to ensure a fulfilling future.<\/p>\n \u201cLearn as many languages as possible and study abroad,\u201d he said, \u201cnot just for a week or three, but for a semester or a year.\u00a0 If you live abroad, you\u2019ll learn so much more than if you\u2019re just passing through. It\u2019s a completely different experience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nabil Al-Tikriti\u2019s humanitarian aid means the world to students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":18989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,81],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"category-umw-home","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Since 1997, he has served as a polling station supervisor and election monitor, through the Peace Corps and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, observing 11 elections in seven countries, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Albania.<\/p>\n