I'm originally from Scottsdale, AZ, but I currently live in Durham, NC, where I'm a junior at Duke University. I'm majoring in Computer Science with minors in Arabic and Religion.

During my freshman year at Duke, I was fortunate to be accepted to the Middle East and Islam in Global Contexts FOCUS Cluster. This academic program, alongside Arabic coursework, sparked my interest in the Middle East. I was able to leverage this experience by participating in DukeEngage Jordan the following summer.

During my nine-week stay in Amman, Jordan, I worked as an intern for the Justice Center for Legal Aid, the largest legal aid provider in Jordan. Outside of my work at the JCLA, I volunteered with another local organization, speaking with Syrian refugees in the city of Mafraq and identifying their needs. I hope to continue to use my skills to contribute to projects in the Middle East, improve Arabic language learning tools for English speakers, and foster a better understanding of the Arab world in the United States.

In my sophomore year, I took my first computer science class at Duke and declared my major. I then worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Duke Computer Science Department the following summer. Animal rights became important to me during my time in Jordan, so I also spent a month working for Farm Sanctuary, one of the largest animal protection organizations in the U.S.

During my junior year I continued to remain engaged by working as a teaching assistant for two data science courses and participating in a variety of clubs -- many of which are wellness and service oriented. I'm currently spending my summer as a Back-End Software Developer Intern at IBM.