This post was written by Ashli Taylor as reflection on her time as an intern with the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace.
My name is Ashli Taylor. I am a senior at the University of Maryland, majoring in Government & Politics, minoring in Middle Eastern Studies and Sustainability Studies. I have been working with the Bahá’i Chair for World Peace since I was a freshman.
I was instantly drawn to the work of the Chair after I attended my first lecture, which was given by Dr. Farzaneh Milani. Her talk reviewed the importance of Iranian women writers and how they drove the wave for a new caravan for women writers around the world.
After doing some research, I was certain that I wanted to get involved with the Bahá’i Chair for World Peace because its mission aligned with the values that I hold dear. I have been with the Chair for almost three years now. Assisting with three international conferences, a number of symposiums and lectures, in addition to aiding Dr. Mahmoudi in the creation of her honors seminar as well as serving as her Teaching Assistant.
I am very thankful for the opportunities and the experience that I have gained from interning at the Bahá’i Chair for World Peace. I have met people who are really trying to move the world towards new understanding of global peace through their research. Currently, no one truly knows what a peaceful society would look like because we have never experienced it first hand. So it is unwise to say that if there was no war, or an absence of guns that our society would ultimately be peaceful. The scholars that the Chair brings to speak, lecture about achievable concepts that lay a foundation for steady change within our societies.
Through the lectures, symposiums and conferences hosted by the Bahá’i Chair I have learned that: women are an integral part of society, men and women are more similar than they are different, the importance of equity over equality, the role of the media in shaping our perception and so much more. The speakers that the Chair chooses to host come from a variety of backgrounds, which allows our interpretation of world peace to be truly interdisciplinary.
I just want to thank Dr. Mahmoudi for giving me the opportunity to gain so much knowledge about the achievable steps to world peace, and for gaining more insight about myself in order to change myself to be a better person and to accomplish the extensive all encompassing goal of World Peace.
About the Author: Ms. Ashli Taylor is a senior Government & Politics major at the University of Maryland. She has been interning with the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace for almost three years now. After graduating, Ms. Taylor will be attending Law School later this year.