Mariam Nadeem is an incoming Comparative Literature Ph.D. student. Having completed her undergraduate degree at LUMS University, Lahore, she now plans to take advantage of the transcultural, interdisciplinary nature of the COLT program to consider the relationship between secularism, religion, literature, and feminism in the global circuits of Anglophone, Arabic and Urdu literature. As an international scholar, Mariam is grateful to be a recipient of the Raymund Fellowship, which will allow her an excellent introduction to graduate life in the United States. She is also looking forward to availing the benefits offered in her first year to build upon her various language proficiencies