I am Rawia Chaouali, currently a senior business student with a concentration in finance and international political economy at Tunis Business School. I have a keen interest in finance and economic research and policy making and I am constantly seeking opportunities to grow academically and professionally to serve the community in the best way possible.

During my four years at Tunis Business School, I have been actively investing in my social, professional and personal skills. I participated in several extracurricular activities that helped me shape who I am, discover my purpose, and work toward achieving my goals. I was a member in the project department of ENACTUS that introduced me to the concept of social entrepreneurship and the importance of turning problems into opportunities. I also volunteered with 4C TBS that constantly seeks to invest in the students and prepare them for the professional life and with Act to Impact club that does charitable events in the community. Most recently, I worked as a project manager for six months with the Women Entrepreneurship Institute – L’Ellethom, in Tunisia. The WEI offers business workshops to women in rural and underprivileged areas of the country to be able to start their businesses and gain financial independence. In addition to my position as a project manager, I also worked as a trainer focused on SWOT and BMC analysis and delivered workshops in different areas of the country including Kairouan, Jendouba and El Kef.

On a professional level, I have completed several internships in the field of business, finance and research. I have served as an intern in the headquarter of BIAT at the external commerce department and at Attijari bank subsidiary at El Mourouj. In addition to that, I have completed a professional internship with the Women Entrepreneurship Initiative at Saint Mary’s College, Indiana where I learned about the challenges that entrepreneurs face and how to effectively address them. Finally, I have worked as a research assistant at Tunis Business School where I have put theory into practice and further fell in love with the field of economics and research.

I am also the recipient of a scholarship under the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program’s 2017-2018 Tunisia Undergraduate Program. As a scholar, I studied for one academic year at Saint Mary’s College. Through coursework, I improved my technical skills in the field of business and economics in addition to building an intercultural understanding and learning how to cope in an international diverse environment. I also participated in cultural and community activities that helped me develop skills such as cross-cultural understanding, professional communication and teamwork. I had the honor to serve as the cultural ambassador of Tunisia abroad which I also did during the World Youth Forum in Egypt to which I was invited in 2019.

To further invest in my academic skills outside of school, I participated in United Nations and World Trade Simulations both in Tunisia and in the United States that tackle economic and political challenging global problems. And to further invest in my technical skills, I took part in workshops related to finance such as Finlabs and FOREX bourse game.

Each of the experiences I had taught me something and added a great value to my life. They helped me grow and define what I want to be in the future: a CHANGE MAKER.

In June 2021, I joined REACH initiative, a leading humanitarian initiative providing granular data, timely information and in-depth analysis from contexts of crisis, disaster and displacement to inform evidence-based humanitarian response. I was recruited as an assessment officer (AO) based in Tunis and working on the response in Libya.

In January 2023, I was deployed in Bangui, Central African Republic to lead on a research project on the humanitarian needs of the different population groups living in hard to reach areas of CAR. Lately I have been deployed as AO and focal point of Ivory Coast and Ghana to conduct research projects related to the refugee crisis affecting the north of coastal countries as a result of the crisis in the Sahel.