2013 Tillman Scholar

Felisa Hervey

Air Force
University of Arizona
Ph.D., Middle Eastern Literature

“What if we shared a vision between citizens of Afghanistan and America?”

After 350 tactical missions in Afghanistan, Felisa realized that the biggest enemy was the misunderstanding between Afghans and Americans. With her Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Literature, she was determined to knock down the barriers dividing civilians of both countries, using art and poetry to turn misunderstanding into understanding.

Today she is facing a new adversary. She had a massive stroke in 2015 in Afghanistan, which resulted in aphasia, a loss of language skills (not intellect).  Now she is working to recover her ability to speak, read and write. She is tackling this challenge every day.