Sepanta “Mike” Saidi is a senior at the University of Texas at Dallas, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in International Political Economy. Mike is multi-lingual with fluency in Persian (Farsi), working proficiency in Spanish, and a beginner’s grasp of Arabic. He intends to use his arsenal of languages to promote positive U.S relations with the Middle East and to conduct cross-cultural research in Persian-speaking countries. For the last two summers, Mike has worked as one of his University’s Orientation Leaders to help incoming freshmen become acclimated to their new academic and social atmosphere. With his most recent position as an Officer, Mike was in charge of an 8-member committee while also having a greater level of responsibility in managing the flow of the Freshmen Orientations and the Extended Freshmen Orientation camps. Last fall, he has awarded an Undergraduate Research Grant from the Office of the Vice President of Research and was also inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Under the supervision of Dr. Karl Ho, he will continue to undertake investigations examining the variability of U.S. public sentiments regarding Islam.