“Serve, serve, serve… because, in the end, it will be the servants who save us all.” These words of Sargent Shriver and his meaningful contributions have become my inspiration for a journey of lifelong service. As a son of Pakistani immigrants who was the first to pursue higher education, I was expected to pursue a path that was never mine. However, this changed as I became a member of the Shriver Living Learning Community (LLC) at UMBC.

Through service and civic conversations with my Shriver LLC colleagues, I discovered and pursued my true passion for human rights advocacy. Here, being surrounded by community change agents, I felt empowered to forge my own path and make my mark through various avenues of change. I served with the Choice Program out of The Shriver Center at UMBC to mentor Baltimore youth. I facilitated a week-long Alternative Spring Break experience focused on social change and leadership with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. I organized public forums with immigrants and refugees in Baltimore to take action on pressing local issues including immigrant representation, homelessness, and food insecurity.

Recently, my experiences through numerous Shriver Center programs and initiatives inspired me to go back home to Pakistan in pursuit of meaningful social change. As a legal clerk with Pakistan’s Supreme Court and Ministry of Human Rights, I had the privilege to lead projects which instituted principles of equity and inclusion under both Pakistani and Islamic law. Here, collaborating with Pakistani policymakers and activists, we raised over $75,000 in one year from international organizations to construct a Legal Aid for underprivileged Pakistanis suffering under an oppressive legal regime. These experiences have fostered and invigorated both my story of self and my commitment to public service at UMBC and my communities beyond.

Rehman Liaqat

2022-23 Mid-Atlantic Civic Fellow