As part of her dissertation research project, Souhaila Nassar (center) and a group of Palestinian girls gathered to hear a storyteller at the refugee camp’s center for the elderly. Photo courtesy of Souhaila Nassar

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Doctoral Student Earns Dissertation Fellowship

Souhaila Nassar, a fourth-year PhD student in the Language & Literacy Education program at BU Wheelock, was one of 35 students to be selected for a National Academy of Education (NAEd)/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship. 

The NAEd/Spencer Foundation’s Dissertation Fellowship program supports emerging education scholars and journalists by providing training and research opportunities that advance knowledge, inform policy and practice, and strengthen public engagement with education issues.

“BU Wheelock has been a space for intellectual, personal, and social growth for me,” says Nassar. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity and tremendous support I have received from my advisors, Professors Beth Warren and Kate Frankel, as well as Professor Eve Manz to pursue my heart work—to conduct research that matters, not just to the field, but also to the communities at the center of my work, and to me as a member of these communities.” 

Nassar’s dissertation research project, “Weaving Identities with Care,” investigates how culturally affirming and politically conscious approaches to education can support the identity development and well-being of Palestinian refugee children and children of marginalized groups. The project seeks to inform the creation of learning environments that foster dignity, belonging, and meaningful connections to history, culture, and community.