Get to know Kennedy Center grads in this student spotlight series. We'll be highlighting some of our 2026 valedictorians to hear about their experiences at BYU.
Mirabella Archibald Keogh of Saratoga Springs, Utah is our 2026 Middle East Studies/Arabic (MESA) valedictorian. She’ll be graduating with a double major in Public Health, with an emphasis in Promotion. She and her husband, Alex (Psychology and Chinese), will be moving to England in the fall, where she will be working and he will be attending Oxford. After their two years there, she hopes to apply to law school and pursue a joint JD/PhD to research how peace theology, particularly in Islam, influences religious law.
Keogh will also be the student speaker at BYU's commencement exercises this year. Read her interview in BYU News here.
What drew you to your program?
I decided to add MESA as a minor when I first came to BYU because I felt like it was an area of the world that I didn't know anything about and I wanted to learn more. After taking the intro class where we were required to read a book about the Syrian civil war titled We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled by Wendy Pearlman, I knew I had to go all in and decided to add MESA as a double major. I am so grateful I did! It has truly transformed my BYU experience.
What were your favorite classes?
I loved every class I took! In my opinion, there are no bad classes in MESA. I especially loved Middle Eastern Politics with Professor Josh Gubler; his class revolutionized my perspective on the factors shaping political currents in the Middle East and what we often get wrong as Western scholars. Humanities of Islam with Professor Kevin Blankinship really helped me to fall in love with Middle Eastern culture: the architecture, literature, art, and poetry of the Middle East is so complex and intellectually challenging—it is breathtaking! I also took a Social Movements class with Professor Quinn Mecham, which greatly influenced how I see problems in the world and my ability to play an impactful role in addressing them. Of course, my Arabic classes with Ustaaz Spencer were life-changing. I never would have come to love the Middle East as dearly as I do without the key linguistic insights provided by my Arabic studies.
Were there any professors that made an impact on you?
I took two classes with Professor Mecham, and I was also a TA for him twice. Additionally, he hosted the Peace Advocates program, which I had the opportunity to participate in, as well as the field study component of my Arabic study abroad, where he guided us through incredible experiences in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye. From my very first class with Professor Mecham, I have always admired his dedication to community building. He consistently encourages his students to actively engage in improving their individual circles of influence and models that behavior himself by serving on the Orem City Council, despite the myriad responsibilities on his plate. His mentorship has played a huge role in my belief that I can make a difference, and in my determination to do so in any capacity, big or small.
How did you engage with your studies outside of class?
I have been blessed to have the proverbial windows of heaven shower down upon me in terms of the BYU experiences I have had the chance to engage in. I participated in two study abroad programs, one at the BYU Jerusalem Center and another in Rabat, Morocco, as part of my intensive Arabic requirement. The Kennedy Center played a major role in offering an amazing range of extracurricular activities, including Model United Nations and Model Arab League.
Research has been another pillar of my time at BYU. I had the opportunity to work on research projects with three professors, including a project on Qatar's international mediation, which my co-author and I will present at a conference this summer in Vienna!
However, probably the most impactful campus involvement I participated in was the Peacemaker Project, an academic student association that I founded in tandem with my husband. Our association focused on building bridges of understanding among BYU students through mutual respect and dignified dialogue, inspired and guided by President Nelson's “Peacemakers Needed” address. Our activities have included debates, across-the-aisle dinners, and lectures from professional peacemakers. Last summer, we hosted the first annual National Student Summit for Peacemaking here at BYU, with students attending from 17 universities from across the country. We truly witnessed miracles working with the Peacemaker Project, and it has inspired me to continue studying peacemaking in my future career.
To those who are considering MESA, what would you say?
DO IT! MESA was definitely the best thing that happened to me at BYU. Through my studies in the program, I have been transformed not only academically but also spiritually. I have been humbled and inspired, and my capacity to love has grown tenfold. I have learned so much about God by seeing his influence in every corner of the world, from Provo to Uzbekistan to Jerusalem. If I could offer one piece of advice to anyone considering the major, I would say: be prepared to confront your prejudices and biases, and embrace ridding yourself of them as an essential part of your education.
For those in the major, I would recommend developing relationships with professors as early as possible. The best part of BYU, and especially the MESA program, is the faculty. They have so much wisdom to impart and are so willing to support you in your goals.
I would also say, be creative! Think about the issues you see in the world, and have the faith to think outside the box and consider how you can creatively approach solutions. You do not need to have a cookie-cutter BYU experience—mine was certainly anything but that—and the more you can think innovatively and interdisciplinarily, the more success you will see.