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Nuhu Abdulmalik will graduate from the Masters of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program in April 2024, but his mission to build a more peaceful world is only beginning. Inspired by the ideas of building connection through storytelling and bridging cultural gaps through technology, the MPACS program has opened doors for him to take action on his peacebuilding aspirations and make a difference. 

On May 27, Fiona Li earned the second-place prize at the Map the System Canada competition in Calgary, Alberta. As the winner of the University of Waterloo’s Map the System campus finals, Fiona’s achievement on the national stage not only brought awareness to the over-representation of Indigenous women in Canadian prisons, but it also highlighted how programs like Peace and Conflict Studies are crucial in furthering education on how to research, understand, and present these critical issues.

Melody Chen is an Assistant Director of the Legal Industry Division at the Ministry of Law in Singapore. After graduating with a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies degree from Conrad Grebel University College in 2014, Melody completed law school and was admitted to the Singapore Bar as an Advocate & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore. In her free time, she loves honing her culinary skills in the kitchen, an interest she developed after bartering homemade lunches in exchange for rides to campus from fellow MPACS graduate, Ellen Sikorski.

Prior to attending the University of Waterloo, MPACS student Fatoumatta Camara intended to pursue a career in diplomacy and international relations. However, The Gambia’s 2017 political impasse, during which half of the population was displaced, changed the trajectory of her career path. This experience sparked her desire to better understand why conflict turns violent, and to explore alternative methods of conflict resolution. In her search for a graduate program, she was drawn to MPACS because of its interdisciplinary approach and the many opportunities offered by the department.

For decades, MPACS student Afnan Aleem has situated himself in the center of some of the world’s most critical humanitarian crisis zones. As a Risk Management leader at Save the Children, he has spent most of the last decade supporting humanitarian assistance in war zones of Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Ukraine, Gaza, and Afghanistan – just to name a few. From being posted in Pakistan during the 2010 floods to negotiating humanitarian access with the Houthis in Yemen, he has gained deep knowledge and practical experience in the domain of peace and conflict.

Her grandfather was forced to flee from Palestine. Religious persecution chased her father out of Cuba. Growing up in a refugee and immigrant faith community in Kitchener, discussion and tales of hardship became a recurring sound for MPACS graduate, Kaylee Perez. “Surrounded by these conversations growing up, I grew to love the aspects of cross-cultural communication,” she said of her upbringing, which led her down a path of peace work that spanned not only cultures, but continents.

For Darren Kropf, the foundation for equity starts from the ground up, quite literally. As the City of Kitchener's Manager of Active Transportation and Development, he explained that “A transportation network that’s predominantly functional for motor vehicles privileges a certain demographic.” While this may be a foreign idea to some, Darren’s mantra is simple, “we must not privilege one group over the other in our transportation planning.” 

“The world of work today is defined by disruptive business models, flattened hierarchies, integrated networks of teams, and global hiring practices. As a result, the workplace is more diverse than ever before,” explained Grebel alumni Wali Muhammad, who studied in the Master of Peace and Conflict Studies program at University of Waterloo, based at Conrad Grebel University College. "When people from diverse backgrounds try to work together as teams, it creates a huge potential for conflict. Simple misunderstandings often result in wasted potential and depleted team performance.” For more than 10 years, Wali has worked to fix this persistent problem of cultural incompatibility.

Valeria Navarrete is a final-year Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) student who recently completed an internship at The Space Court Foundation, an organization committed to elevating space law and policy education. With the ongoing global race to increase human space presence, Valeria is interested in the potential conflicts this might produce, something that MPACS speaks to directly. In this article, Valeria expands on her interest in space law, its intersection with peace and conflict studies, and her experience as an MPACS student.