‘Connecting Dots’: Student Blends Academic Interests
For Sarah Seif, a senior majoring in integrated marketing communication and minoring in theatre and development, AUC has provided a space to combine diverse academic and extracurricular passions into one transformative education.
Reflecting on how her three academic focuses in marketing, theatre and development meld together, Seif explained, “These are the three things I’m most passionate about. For me, it’s like connecting dots; one can’t go without the other. They’re interdisciplinary in so many ways. Theatre teaches you how to speak and how to walk; marketing teaches you how to market everything and position yourself well; and development teaches you how to do all of this with purpose.”
A recipient of the Moataz Al Alfi Endowed Scholarship for students demonstrating academic merit in marketing studies, Seif has taken her marketing and communications experience far beyond the classroom, working as the business development manager for Excuse My Content startup. “I’m working on marketing, development, and securing partnerships and funding," she said. "The startup is a video content creation house, and we believe that good content is the key to doing everything, especially in this digital world. We create a lot of advertisements, documentaries and films that are driven by value and purpose so they can really inspire communities and change lives.”
In addition to her involvement with Excuse My Content, Seif has acted in numerous scenes and plays at AUC. Most recently, Seif merged her interests in theatre and development by participating in creating a documentary play that required sociological research outside of the classroom. The play, titled Dream Hope Wish Desire, was based on participatory action research. The class chose to explore the dreams of Egyptian people as a topic, interviewing people on the street, of different classes and backgrounds, to portray the diversity of the community. After transcribing and translating these interviews, the students used these answers to create the script for the play they would also act in.
Since coming to AUC, Seif has learned how to approach life with an interdisciplinary mindset, both in her academics and business endeavors. “AUC made me a completely different person, a fearless person who could multitask and feel confident just because I’m an AUCian,” she affirmed.
When asked what advice she might have for incoming AUCians, Seif emphasized the importance of taking advantage of the University’s liberal arts education. “Be as diverse as you can while at AUC,” she said. “Don’t just focus on one thing; don’t just take all your courses and electives in one path. Knock on all doors because you really never know where life will take you, or what your interests and passions will be. Try as many student activities as possible. Be fearless because this is really the only place in the world where you can do everything risk-free.”
