Misha Kordestani
Misha Kordestani worked on the Shahnama Project as an intern in the summer of 2013. Although she thinks of her future University studies to be more connected with science, Misha used three weeks of her vacation to learn in quite an intense way about the history of Persian culture, in which she has developed a very strong interest together with her family. It was beneficial for the Project, apart from her contribution to the work on the database and cataloguing new acquisitions for the library, to have her feedback both in discussions and in written essays on the status and the perception of the Shahnama, Persian literature and culture in general within the modern Persian-speaking world, especially the younger generation of Iranians who grow up outside the country. Misha’s connection with the Project is still close and she continues contributing to it by updating its FB page and acting as an ambassador for the Cambridge academic project to the Iranian community, not only in California but among other Iranians abroad.
Misha is currently a high school student in California, studying hard to continue her education at a prestigious university that fits her international upbringing and interests in languages and science. She hopes to study international business in the future, especially to use her knowledge and fluency in Persian, English, French and Spanish. She also has interests in genetics, as well as cancer research. She pursued her interest in understanding cancer by writing a children's book in 2013, named Aiden's Path. Misha donated the book to children's hospitals throughout the nation, to help children comprehend the deadly disease. Not only is Misha interested in these topics, but she is also fascinated to learn that she was born into an ethnicity filled with culture and history. Misha spent most of her childhood and early adolescence in Farsi school and Persian Dance classes, to become more knowledgable about Iran's traditions and culture.