Aziz Sohail ’13

Major/minor: Art History/History
Nationality: Pakistani
Ethnicity: Pakistani
Relationship Status: SINGLE :D

Her Campus: Tell us a bit about the extra-curriculars with which you are involved.  Which are you most passionate about?
Aziz Sohail: I am working with a bunch of things. On campus I work with Project Nur, working on bringing people together through mutual intercultural understanding, and building a progressive community. I work with the Ethics Center, outreaching for them in innovative ways. Also work as an intern at the Rose, helping with the awesome things in the back, the results of which you see in the front (come see our new shows!), and involved with Trisk.

HC: Tell us about which gallery in Boston for which you’ve curated, as well about that international exhibit you helped to curate.  How did you fall into this line of work/discover this passion?
AS: I work for the American Islamic Congress Cultural Center in Boston, helping with development and curating of art exhibits and cultural initiatives – such as spotlighting contemporary art by Muslim Women, or Muslim artists in Roxbury, and so on! Just trying to diversify the art scene and exposing people to new cultural venues through music, theater and art! It’s a lot of fun, especially when you see people interacting with them for the first time.
I also work with the Muslim-Jewish conference and was their Curator-in-Residence in Slovakia this past summer, which was fun because it involved getting art and working with Muslim and Jewish artists from around the world, and am helping with furthering this project this summer too!
I am really passionate about this because I really believe art can bring people together – it is an emotional connection and an amazing cultural bridge. Just observe someone looking at a work of art, especially a work of art that you just installed… it is just so sublime, so beautiful, so simple and perfect. Now imagine if this was someone from a culture that you thought was your enemy.. It takes us out of our bubble, our daily grind of life, and adds that important layer to our life that gives us meaning and understanding of the world. Give a child a crayon, or someone a piano, and see how they’ll react…

HC: How have your religion impacted the types of projects you take on, the causes you support, etc?
AS: I guess I am blessed because due to my different experiences and my identity has just inspired me to keep on making it better. I made it here to Brandeis, and it’s been awesome, and it’s just really important to keep on passing it on. Also being parts of so many different worlds – a student in the US, Muslim, and so on, I just get different perspectives, and have to sort of blend them together, and this sort of inspires me to keep on doing this for the world. 

HC: What are you most looking forward to after graduation?
AS: The ability to keep on doing bigger and better things! And traveling, the world is our oyster, and this is so true! 

HC: What kind of person would you like to become?
AS: Just someone who can keep on changing the world a little bit, especially my country Pakistan. I really, actually care about it a lot and would really love to be able to use my experiences in the USA to help out there.  

Fun Facts:
Traits you look for in a significant other: Someone I can just connect to and have a decent conversation with
Hobbies: Cooking, Running, Swimming, Beaches, Art, Photography, Traveling, 
Name 3 food you can never get sick of: White chocolate, French fries, Seafood, I just love food…
Name 3 things on your Brandeis bucket list: Connect with people I might never see again, skydiving, going to all the senior week events and formal!
Name 3 things on your overall life bucket list: Traveling 80 percent of the world’s countries, starting a food blog, living in New York and Paris for a year.
Globetrotter, what are the next few countries on your travel list? Why?
This is hard, but…

• Costa Rica!  rainforests, beaches, bungee jumping, skydiving and food!
• Sri Lanka : Because it is called the pearl of the Indian ocean, and has awesome food and beaches
• Oman: Historic forts, pearls, beaches, food, sand :)
• Lebanon: Great music, art, bars, beaches, culture and it’s Paris of the East

Yeah I love beaches and food! ;)

HC: Anything else you’d like to include?
AS: Thanks for asking me to be a part of it. Its very unexpected and I feel so honoured!