Maya Jamroz

MSc Social Anthropology, 2023

Originally from the US (Chicago), I am an MSc student in Social Anthropology. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science, and a concentration in Leadership Studies, from Williams College, where I also competed and captained the women’s tennis team.

At Oxford, I played for the women’s varsity Blues Tennis team and was a part of the women’s novice rowing team here at GTC. I also worked as a consultant for the Oxford Strategy Group (OSG) and was involved in the Oxford SDG Impact Lab, where I helped lead the Oxford Sports Leadership Program and worked with a local non-profit, Active Oxfordshire, to improve access to physical activities for adults with learning disabilities.

Passionate about history and social justice, my interest in gender equality and women’s empowerment through sport was inspired by both my experience as a female athlete and my work with the U.S. Department of State at the Secretary’s Office for Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI). Building on my research into women, sports, and nationalism in Amman, Jordan conducted during the summer of 2022, my dissertation explores the participation of women in martial arts in Jordan as a platform for empowerment and identity-shaping while also serving as a space for negotiating broader social norms.