2021 Stabler Donor Impact Report R4

ARTS AND SCIENCES Name: Raihan Alam Hometown: San Francisco, CA Major: Psychology Class: 2023 Favorite activity: Douglass Dialogues Favorite faculty or staff: Professor Michael Gill, Chair of Psychology Department Dream job: Professor of Psychology I am from a Bangladeshi-American family, and I am inspired to excel at Lehigh by my desire to make my family proud and to help those in need. I come from a low income family, and I am the first to go to college. I want to make my family proud and show them I am not wasting any time at college. I also want to become a clinical psychologist. I want to help those in need and deal with mental health issues like the epidemic of suicide. I want to do research and figure out the best interventions we can take in this regard. Without proper financial aid, I would have ended up at a state school close to home. My mom started working to help pay for my college expenses alongside my dad. I really appreciate the financial support I receive from Lehigh. Without it, I am not sure if I could do all the research I’ve been able to do, as well as start and join the clubs I am passionate about. Graduate school for clinical psychology is very competitive, so I am trying extremely hard to make myself stand out. I started a club this year called the Douglass Dialogues. The club aims to create a space for students of all political and philosophical backgrounds to discuss what they find to be the most pressing sociocultural and political issues of the day. We advocate for, and believe that, open and honest dialogue regarding the different approaches and interpretations of these issues is the best way forward in making the world a better place. There are not enough student-run organizations on college campuses focused on open, honest, and difficult dialogue between students of different beliefs. The Douglass Dialogues club was made to fill this void at Lehigh. We also invite speakers to present complicated ideas that Lehigh students are interested in. I am also conducting research with a grant from the Dale S. Strohl ’58 Award for Research Excellence in Humanities and Social Sciences. I have been working with my academic advisor Michael Gill to explore interventions that might help people remain open-minded and able to listen even when they feel that they are being subjected to criticism. Giving back means making those who have made sacrifices for your sake proud . It means to not doubt what others have done for you. It also means to use the abilities and education you have for the better and to help those in need. If you have great abilities and a wonderful education, but you are not using them in some way to make the world a better place, I think you are wasting your time. I am very grateful to be at Lehigh, and I hope it is noticeable through my achievements and projects that I am trying to make the best use of my time here. Thank you for your support.