Joey Talerico

Joey is a senior in the W.A. Franke Honors College majoring in Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Arabic, and Political Science, with an emphasis in International Affairs. He is a recipient of two Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships, with which he studied advanced Arabic at the Council on International Education and Exchange institute in Amman, Jordan this past summer. Joey serves as a Resident Assistant in the dorms on campus, as well as works as a research assistant in the Psychology, Inequality, and Politics Lab with Dr. Frank Gonzalez. Joey also works as a research assistant with Dr. Carolyn Barnett in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and is the founder and President of the UA Middle Eastern and North African Students Association (MENASA). Joey loves his majors because they let him dive into subjects he’s genuinely passionate about and motivated to succeed in. He enjoys building both interpersonal and technical skills simultaneously. Joey became an SBS Ambassador to inspire others to pursue their true passions and create meaningful experiences like his own. Joey's greatest passion is solo-traveling, and he hit his 31^st country after visiting Syria this summer! After graduation, he plans to pursue a master's degree in Middle Eastern and North African Studies and continue on to a career working in international aid and development.