This project—and honestly this entire final semester—would not have come together without the people (and kittens) who showed up for me in every possible way.
To my professors, Anne Terwiel (Capstone) and Jerry Isaak (Case Study)
Thank you both for your guidance, patience, and encouragement. Your lifelong lessons and projects challenged me in the best ways and helped me grow as a researcher and a thinker. I’m genuinely grateful for the space you created for curiosity, honesty, and exploration.
To my human roommates, Malmi and Isaac
Thank you for the shared meals, the chaotic caffeine-fueled group-study marathons, the emotional debrief sessions, and the mutual stress management. You both made this term survivable and even fun in moments where it shouldn’t have been.
To my feline roommates, Rei and Kai
The new little chaos babies. Thank you for the sudden sprints, weird meows, and accidental emotional support. You two genuinely softened the edges of a stressful pre-graduation home.
To my parents, Anu and Pupse
Thank you for getting me here—literally, geographically, emotionally, and financially. Your belief in me is the backbone of everything I’m able to do. I hope you’re proud of that and of me.
To my husband, Nikhil, and my in-laws, Cheryl and Suresh
Your faith in me never wavers. Thank you for being steady, supportive, and endlessly patient through every meltdown and breakthrough. Thank you for being with me from when I was a teenage troublemaker to every step of my success now as a woman.
To my best friends, Natalie and Mary
Thank you for cheering me on from across continents and time zones. Your encouragement and unspoken emotional support kept me from going off the plot more times than I can count.
To my aunt, Niam Itani
Thank you for your care, consistent efforts and for connecting me with journalist Dalal Salameh through your contacts for my case study project. Your help opened doors I couldn’t have opened on my own.
To ChatGPT (GPT-5.1, November 2025)
Used for spell-checking and for clarity when interpreting certain terms, concepts, and information from the research sources. All analysis, interpretations, and conclusions in this project remain entirely my own academic work.
And to everyone else—colleagues, bosses, mentors, classmates, and all the people who fed me, listened to me, believed in me, laughed with me, or simply existed near me during this degree—you’re part of this work more than you know.