“I grew up very aware of my identity as an Arab American woman. When I lived in Egypt, I was the American girl. When I was in America, I was the Arab girl. I was born in New York, but my family and I lived in Egypt for 10 years. We weren’t supposed to be there long, just a few months, but then 9/11 happened. When we came back to the United States, it was such a hostile environment — many of our family friends were questioned by the @FBI. So, we returned to Egypt. I still remember when @barackobama came to speak when I was living in Cairo. He said hello in Arabic. I watched his speech, completely obsessed. I remember being fascinated by the way the Egyptian newspapers were covering the event, describing him as a ‘Black man running for presidency.’ I’ve always loved politics, and, for my age, I’ve had a lot of political training. During the 2016 campaign, I worked with super PACS, helping with races in PA and Florida. Then, I worked for the NJ State Assembly. I became the youngest and first person of color to lead my county’s democratic party organization. Eventually, I was offered a job with the @demconvention in Milwaukee. Then, the pandemic hit. Every week things were changing. The DNC Convention took on this entirely new meaning. The eyes of the country, even the world, were on us. Here we were, needing to redefine politics, while also energizing people to get involved and vote …without crowds. The great irony is that I ended up in Delaware for the convention. The next day, I moved to @Princeton and started ‘math camp’ at SPIA. I swear, Princeton is the only thing that could bring me back to this state. Joking aside, I’m very cognizant of the privilege I have of being here. I’m learning from professors I once read about in books and articles. Schools like @princeton have so much impact in how policies are created. Money goes away, but the power of the legacy you leave from being in public service? Nothing can match that.” — Susan Ragheb MPA ’22.