The annual Distinguished Alumni Reception recognizes the accomplishments of an exemplary alum from each of the academic programs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Those honored are nominated by department chairs, faculty and staff, based on criteria that includes professional accomplishments, awards, philanthropy, service and contributions to the college and university community. In Fall 2017, the Global Affairs program honored Amina Derbi, BA ’12, MA ‘14.
Amina is an import policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Her responsibilities include research, written analysis, and outreach to United States industries participating in the global market.
After graduating from the Global Affairs accelerated master’s program in 2014, Amina launched her own suspense-thriller book series, the first book of which – The Storyteller and the Terrorist in our Newsfeeds – is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Amina uses her platform as an author to raise funds for humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees through Stories for Syria, a CrowdRise donor page benefiting USA for UNHCR, the non-profit fundraising arm of the United Nations Refugee Agency. Most recently, she also served as a member of the Volunteer Host Committee for the 2017 DC Gaza 5K race. This charity event helped raise over $120,000 for the Community Mental Health Programme, which helps children in Gaza receive the vital mental health services they need.
Amina is also continuing her education by taking graphic design classes part-time at Mason as she believes we are all lifelong students at heart!
Amidst all of these activities, she always finds time to give back to Global Affairs when called upon, and has played an especially important role in the program’s alumni career fair.