We at CARP lab are excited to welcome new and returning interns to our team this fall, and we’re handing over the blog reins to them to introduce themselves. First up, Zayd Hamid!

Zayd writes:

My name is Zayd Hamid, and I am a first-generation student from Manassas Park, Virginia. I am pursuing a B.A in Government and International Politics with a minor in Legal Studies at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Here at GMU I completed Honors 110, a class revolving around conducting research and preparing students to create and defend research proposals in a professional environment. The pursuit of a professional environment led me to look for internships and I found CARP through taking a class with Prof. Shiraev. At CARP, I plan to explore my interests in history and politics through examining case studies across time and the phenomena that have contributed to successful character attacks whose consequences have been historically or contemporarily significant to world events. I enjoy the research process since it gives me the space to delve into events and derive value from their analysis. Being able to contribute to the lab’s mission in working to “better understand this timeless phenomenon” gives me a strong sense of value in my work since I am able to contribute my efforts to uncovering a more thorough and nuanced understanding of significant character assassination events and their consequences to the world around them. This experience will help me in my post-college work life since I plan to seek professional employment at think-tanks and policy-labs and devote my work life to the research and analysis of laws and public policy.