Faculty of the Week: Sahar Ullah
By TEDDY CAPOZZI, ELLEN JIN, and SOPHIE MA
Sahar Ullah smiles for the camera
Hillary Yoon / The Exonian
Bearing a strong aptitude for theater and literature, Instructor in English Sahar Ullah graces the Academy with a wide range of teaching experiences at various places, from Columbia University to Rikers Island. Despite the brevity of her tenure at the Academy, Ullah has quickly become an integral part of the Exeter community, hosting Iftar dinner for students and faculty, leading workshops for Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day, directing plays such as Open the Gate, and more.
Going into college, Ullah was uncertain yet eager to see what her future would entail. After receiving her Bachelors at the University of Miami, where she completed three majors, she returned to school, this time at the University of Chicago, where she earned her Master of Arts. Next, she received her Masters in Philosophy at Columbia University. Ullah then returned to Columbia, where she earned her Ph.D.
“As a kid, every year I wanted to be something else,” Ullah said. “I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to be a Broadway actor. I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to save people. I wanted to be Batman.”
“When I got to college, [I had] an undecided major when I went in and then did a triple major because I couldn’t decide,” Ullah continued. “Then I kept going to school, trying to figure out what I wanna be.”
After her time in school, Ullah decided to stay at Columbia, where she taught a seminar-style literature class for their core curriculum. Although Ullah enjoyed her time teaching at the University, the impact of COVID-19 on New York City prompted her to leave.
Ullah had previously never heard of Exeter. After a conversation with a friend, however, Ullah quickly became intrigued. The similarities between Harkness and seminar classes made the transition to teaching here easy for her. Additionally, Exeter was appealing in that it provided a space for Ullah to intersect both her interests in English and theater. “I found in higher education and the academic spaces I occupied, I had to keep [theater-making and literary scholarship] separate,” Ullah explained. “The big draw for me here was that the school said, ‘We want you to bring it all.’”
Chair of the Department of English Barbara Desmond voiced her appreciation for Ullah. “My classroom is right next to Dr. Ullah’s. She always brightens my day with her wonderful laugh and funny videos. She is constantly innovating — proposing new classes, suggesting new texts (especially plays) and new assignments,” Desmond said. “She is so generous with her knowledge and attention, whether she is talking to her students or her colleagues. We are so lucky to have her here!”
Fellow Instructor in English Matthew Miller echoed Desmond’s sentiment. “She is a brilliant mind and generous with that brilliance. You know that thing when you talk to someone so smart that you start feeling stupid, even getting dumber, diminished? It’s just the opposite when you talk to Dr. Ullah,” Miller said. “When you talk with her you feel yourself getting smarter, larger, feel the universe widening in a wonderful way. I imagine that is what her students feel everyday in her class.”
Many of her advisees talked about Ullah’s warmth and how easy-going she is. Prep Ava Nwaochei mentioned she mistook Dr. Ullah for a therapist at first. “I thought she was a therapist or psychologist because I thought her demeanor was so kind and positive and uplifting. It’s exactly what I would look for in a therapist. Her energy and her vibe are just so entrusting and calming and soothing.”
Ullah’s warm and hospitable nature stems from her childhood, during which she grew up in southern Florida. With her father as a professor, growing up in a dormitory study gave Ullah exposure to various cultures. “I grew up with a lot of different cultures because there were a lot of international students [in our dorm building],” Ullah said. “I had my Malaysian aunties, Indonesian aunties, Nigerian, Iranian, Egyptian, Filipino, and Thai aunties.”
This cultural immersion left a strong impression on Ullah. “That was a very formative experience for me because since then I cannot remember when we didn’t have people from different communities in our home,” she said.
“I learned through my interactions with the students that what we think of intelligence and brilliance is often [really] about people who have had access and people who haven’t”
Colleague Stephanie Bramlett was able to experience this hospitality firsthand during the Iftar dinner Ullah hosted at her home. “The [Iftar dinner] was such a beautiful event! I loved seeing Dr. Ullah totally in her element, buzzing around her house and making sure everyone was fed, comfortable, and happy.”
Fellow advisee Claire Fu agreed, speaking from experiences of spending time with Ullah when she’s on duty in Lamont. “She makes you feel very at home, almost like a family. When she’s on duty, she’ll bring us snacks, and then we just like to chat a little bit, check in with everyone.”
Advisee and senior Yasmin Salerno appreciated how Ullah has helped her through her time at Exeter. “She is a great person to talk to when it comes to navigating marginalized identities at Exeter,” Salerno said. “She is dependable, compassionate, and friendly. Dr. Ullah is quite caring and has never turned me down when I needed her help on anything.”
Talking about marginalized identities has been a focus for Ullah. During her time in New York, she was able to teach literature and creative writing at Rikers Island, New York City’s largest jail. This experience showed Ullah how skewed our perception of intelligence can be.
“The United States currently has more Black men under correctional control than enslaved during the height of slavery, and people who are incarcerated are disproportionately from poor communities [where] people don’t have the money to be represented,” Ullah said.
“I had…one of the best writers I’ve ever had in my class [at Rikers],” Ullah continued.
Like period. I’ve taught at Columbia, [and] I’m teaching here. He was one of the best writers. He’d write beautiful essays and…you could tell he loved literature by the way that he would write about any book that we read.”
This student’s story still lingers with Ullah to this day. “I learned later that he had been paralyzed cuz he was shot, and he was in prison indefinitely. He didn’t have representation. [His tale] opens up another window into American education that we as a society really ignore. [There’s] this entire group of people [whose] talents are wasting away,” Ullah concluded.
Ullah’s passion for teaching, her commitment to fostering inclusivity, and her genuine care for her students make her an exceptional and cherished member of the Exeter community. Her ability to seamlessly merge different disciplines, create a warm and welcoming environment, and support students’ personal growth highlight the invaluable contributions she makes to the Academy. Ullah’s presence will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on the lives of those she interacts with and continue to inspire a love for learning and inclusivity for years to come.
“She is at once a consummate professional while also possessing a puckish irreverence, especially for the status quo and institutional torpor,” Miller said. “She will not back down when it comes to defending what is right, especially for the students. And she carries with her such joy and laughter, such ebullience, even getting an old cynic like me to smile.”