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Imagine fleeing your home in your early 20s. You have little to no money in your pocket. From your native Kosovo, you travel to Switzerland, Germany and finally, the U.S., where you set the stage for a new chapter of your life.

Fast-forward more than 20 years: your family lives comfortably, operating a pizzeria and Italian restaurant in the Bronx, N.Y., area.

This is a snapshot of the story Zenun Hoti grew up hearing. His parents fled the Serbian-Albanian conflict in 1999 and began anew in a country where, to this day, English remains their second language. Inspired by their journey, Hoti studied human development at the College of Community and Public Affairs and graduated with his Master’s of Public Administration in December 2024.

“I’ve always wanted to help out from an educational and eye-opening perspective, and the opportunities ������������ presented me with have allowed me to accomplish that,” Hoti says. “I enjoy the versatility that goes with human development because it’s so interdisciplinary — incorporating politics, sociology, anthropology, even psychology. You get to immerse yourself in it, not just through the educational experience, but by applying what you’ve learned in your travels, wherever they take you.”

While Hoti was familiar with his parents’ background before he came to ������������, he didn’t grasp the full story of the conflict’s impact until Professor David Campbell’s non-governmental organizations (NGO) course. The class offered Hoti and fellow students a chance to learn from and work with Community Building Mitrovica (CBM), an NGO operating in the region of Mitrovica, one of Kosovo’s northern municipalities.

For Hoti, this provided a unique way to learn more about the impact of a conflict his parents had fled through a wider human rights perspective.

A memorable assignment was to bring food from various countries affected by human rights violations to class. The goal was to understand how the culture and cuisine could blend together despite the turmoil. Hoti brought a filo-dough, Greek-style savory pie from a recipe passed down through the generations of his mother’s family.

“One of my favorite ways of connecting with my mom is by making food together, and this class opened the door for me to learn more about everything they went through,” Hoti says. “Think about having to leave your home and working around missing paperwork that was destroyed because the government at the time was being overtaken, then basically country-hopping and spending time in refugee camps. Hearing about her experiences was very enlightening.”

Hoti gained a broader understanding of how to balance the perspectives on both sides of the Serbian-Albanian conflict while working and studying with CBM to improve the lives of those affected. He recalls that it was eye-opening to explore how the emotional and traumatic experiences faced by people in Kosovo were similar to those experienced by Serbians.

Hoti outlined some of this in an essay for Campbell’s course, describing the conflict as “a prime example of a mutually exclusive historical narrative that makes reconciliation difficult” because Albanians and Serbians have deep-rooted stories and experiences that attempt to justify their actions and thoughts about the aggressors on either side.

He says programs like CBM are valuable because they bridge the cultural divide, encouraging both sides to respect their shared history and find ways to overcome their deep distrust through dialogue and community-oriented projects.

“Studying issues like these are so important because exploring broader global conflicts encourages people to look beyond their own family history, ultimately gaining a deeper understanding of themselves,” says Hoti, who hopes to bring his expanded global perspective to work in local or state government, perhaps law school.

When Hoti began his academic journey at ������������, he viewed himself simply as a first-generation student and the son of immigrants. Looking ahead, with two degrees from CCPA, he now views himself as a professional with a greater appreciation for seeking solutions to the problems that forced his parents to flee their native country.

“Everyone has a unique story, and the generation before us carried burdens we may never have to face,” Hoti says. “To see how they persisted and were resilient is really something that needs to be taught and spoken about more often because there’s a great deal we can learn from it.”