Ryan Strong, BBA and BA, 2017

Field of Study: BBA in Business Administration and BA in Near Eastern Studies - Persian, Cultural Studies

Graduation Year: 2017

My emphasis in Persian Studies has provided me several enriching experiences both inside and outside the classroom. From the Iranian Film Festival of Ann Arbor to the annual department-wide poetry event to the weekly intellectual roundtable discussions held in Persian, which I was given the honor of leading one week, there was no shortage of events to both practice language skills and learn more about the culture.

Following graduation, I will be moving down to Houston, Texas to start my career at Royal Dutch Shell. It is an exciting time to be entering the oil and gas sector, and I look forward to tackling the challenges the industry faces in the coming years. The Near Eastern Studies department has prepared me well to succeed in the complex, international projects that I will be assigned, as well as thrive in Shell’s diverse corporate culture.

I am very eager to move down to Houston. The city holds the accolade of being the most diverse city in the United States, thus there is a very cool fusion of cultures. Iranians and Iranian-Americans make up a sizeable portion of the population, and my hope is to connect with this community to both join in the Persian cultural traditions that I was introduced to at Michigan as well as keep working towards full proficiency in the language.