A lifelong friendship through Stanford graduate study inspires gift for student research
In 1955, two unlikely paths converged at Stanford University. One was that of a 34-year-old Finnish dramatist named Ritva Heikkila; the other was a 21-year-old Fulbright recipient named Parveen Hassan from what was then West Pakistan.
“It was the Golden Age of America, when everyone was so obliging and welcoming,” recalls Hassan, who pursued graduate studies in political science. It was her first exposure to Western culture, and she quickly became friends with students of different nationalities.
“It was indeed a great galaxy of intellectuals” says Hassan, who fondly remembers studying the collections in the Hoover library, living in the Stanford Village, and biking along Palm Drive. “Stanford gave me a sense of purpose and inspired me to believe that education was my destiny.”
Her best friend was Ritva Heikkila, who earned her master’s degree in theater in 1956 and went on to work at the National Theatre in Helsinki for the majority of her career. Heikkila was originally from the village of Terijoki, in an area known as the Finnish Riviera, but had fled to Helsinki when the Soviet Union attacked Finland as part of the Winter War in 1939. “She was a tireless worker and an exceedingly inspiring person,” says Hassan.
The two women both had life changing experiences at Stanford, and they became lifelong friends until Heikkila’s death in 2016. In honor of their friendship, Hassan established the Parveen Hassan and Ritva Heikkila Fund for International Research, with additional support from the Finlandia Foundation, to foster cross-cultural research at the graduate level. The fund supported two Stanford Global Studies graduate students to conduct international research this spring.
Ju Hyun Kim, an M.A. candidate in East Asian Studies, is studying the role the museums in Okinawa play in the construction of Japan’s collective WWII memory. Through funding from the grant, she was able to visit Okinawa and compare the narratives presented at the peace memorials and museums on the island.
“Okinawa is such a popular tourist destination within Japan, and I wanted to see how the historical events are presented to visitors from outside of the island,” she says. “My visit suggested new ways of thinking about this research topic, which is vital for my thesis and would not have been possible without actually visiting the region.”
During spring break, Latin American Studies master’s student Yongjian Si visited the Nahua-speaking community of El Tecomate, located in the municipality of Chicontepec in the State of Veracruz, Mexico. Si, whose research focuses on education and revitalization efforts for the indigenous Nahuatl language, was able to visit local schools and community organizations that are dedicated to these efforts through the grant.
He also participated in the second annual Nahuatl Language and Culture Community Workshop with members of the community. “The experience was especially memorable because for many community members, it was their first time hearing their language used in a public and intellectual space,” says Si. “Participating in this workshop reminded me of my passions for language revitalization and the importance for intercultural communication.”
Applications for the Parveen Hassan and Ritva Heikkila Fund for International Research are open to students enrolled in SGS graduate programs on a quarterly basis.
