Faculty Highlight
Shirin Timms
Timms honored for work with refugees
Shirin Kambin Timms has met hundreds of refugees over the past eight years working as a volunteer with the St. Vincent Catholic Charities of Lansing. For her commitment in helping with resettlement of these refugees, she was recently honored with the Ballentine Award for “extraordinary service to family and children.”
Kambin Timms, who speaks both English and Farsi (Persian), meets with and interprets each week for a women’s sewing circle comprised of refugees from all over the world. As the women learn new skills, they also meet with a counselor and sort through trials they may have faced in their native lands, as well as adjustment needs here in the U.S. In addition to her work with the sewing circle, Kambin Timms has worked to advance educational opportunities for newcomers, helping to start English classes for adults and after school programming for students in grades K-12. She sees the importance of education, both as an associate professor at the college teaching political science, history and anthropology courses, and as a volunteer helping refugees adjust to their new life.
“With resettlement of the refugees, the long-term goal is to help them become self-sufficient. Education is the way to become that, and that’s where a lot of my energy has gone in recent years,” she said. While teaching community college students and working with refugees may seem like different worlds, she reiterates that education is the link that brings them together.
Her work with the refugees is always rewarding, she said, affording her opportunities to help others and be inspired by their stories. “They are truly courageous, even with all they have gone through,” Kambin Timms said. “Most come from areas in the world that are troubled, but these people found the strength and perseverance to get out.”
The stories of refugees have also become part of a work very dear to her, a fictionalized novel written with her father, Parviz Kambin, who himself emigrated to the U.S. from Iran. The book, “Finding Refuge: My Journey from the Middle East to Michigan,” tells some of her father’s story from his own journey, written with Kambin Timms, who used some parts of other refugees’ stories to complete the work. She says the book was written primarily for their own family to remember her father’s journey.
