GSWS and political science grad embraces challenge of refugee and human rights advocacy

Sass’s interest in human rights started at age 12. She began reading her dad’s books about the subject and started travelling the world with her family. She also began a social justice club in high school with a friend. Once she finished secondary school, she spent years abroad, rather than going directly to university after graduation.

From 2011 to 2015, Sass lived in Syria and taught English to adults who were eager to learn the language before they fled the country. Watching so many people leave Syria during the civil war left an indelible impression on Sass. When she ultimately returned to Canada, she focused on how she could advocate for migrants and refugees in the future.

After adjusting to living at home again, Sass enrolled in Langara College and transferred to SFU a year later on an entrance scholarship. She chose to attend SFU because her friends had good experiences there and she admired the university’s history of activism.

Sass decided to complete a double major in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies and political science.

“It was awesome to discover that SFU offered a joint program,” she says. “I find the two programs really complement one another. I’ve always loved politics and felt like doing the joint major would set me up with the skills needed to go into the field I wanted to be in—refugee and human-rights law.”

While completing her degree, Sass particularly enjoyed courses like GSWS 350, Public Policy for Women, with Tiffany Muller Myrdahl because assignments included attending campaign events and participating in the electoral process. She also found that what she learned in GSWS 208, Diagnosing Difference: Race and Gender in Global Medical Perspective, with Coleman Nye about HIV and AIDS prevalence, and the perception of it in South Africa, was particularly relevant to her time in the country. In political science, Michael Laurence’s POL 310 course, Identity Politics, was key for building a solid foundation on which to study gender, politics and race.

Outside of the classroom, Sass volunteered with the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia and the Muslim Food Bank. She taught English, customized lesson plans, and even helped sponsor a refugee family so that they could come to Canada.

Sass is this year’s recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation and the Rosemary Brown Undergraduate Award for Social Justice and the Professor Somjee Undergraduate Scholarship in Political Science. She is grateful for all that SFU has given her.

“SFU has given me a lot of skills, knowledge, and opportunities,” Sass says. “I got valuable experience from my classes, including hands-on and relevant projects and assignments. I was able to study abroad at UCT and take on internships through the international co-op program. They’ve given me great work experience, which will help me achieve my future academic and career goals.”