
Grad School Buddy
Grad School Buddy provides reliable resources that help grad students worldwide confidently navigate grad school and excel in their careers. We aim to equip and nurture the next generation of thinkers and doers interested in redefining rules and bringing positive change to their communities.
Grad School Buddy
Season 4 Episode 8: Lessons on Thriving Through Three Career Shifts (with Dana Alrayess)
Dana is a labor market economist whose work in the MENA region spans workforce development, gender reforms, and the future of work.
Growing up, Dana's interests ranged from science and sports to languages, but never policy. She eventually studied Government and International Politics at George Mason University, with minors in Middle Eastern Studies and Economics.
In this episode, Dana takes us through her grad school journey ir international policy development and reflects on what it really means to apply academic training in the policy world. She shares the lessons she's learned across three major career shifts, and how each one brought her closer to the work that matters most to her: rebuilding her home country, Syria, through effective and impactful policies.