Surujdai Mukhram

Born in Guyana and raised in the Bronx, Surujdai brings to Princeton SPIA a background in legislative research, program development, and equity-driven advocacy. Prior to Princeton, she served in the New York State Assembly with the Chair of Corrections, supporting legislation on medical parole expansion, the treatment of aging prison populations, and reentry policies. Earlier, she worked at Guyana’s only juvenile detention center, where she introduced math and literacy classes, created youth programming, and successfully lobbied for repeal of the colonial-era “wandering” law that disproportionately criminalized vulnerable youth. As part of her SPIA Summer Service Project, Surujdai spent 12 weeks in rural Nepal designing and implementing an English curriculum for students in grades 4–10 at Deerwalk Dhading School. The experience broadened her perspective on education as a driver of social mobility and underscored the challenges of delivering equitable learning opportunities in resource-constrained environments. At Princeton SPIA, Surujdai serves as the elected DEI representative for her cohort and is pursuing a certificate in Health and Health Policy. After graduation, she hopes to advance equitable systems through a career at the intersection of justice reform, education access, and public health. Outside the classroom, she enjoys writing, traveling, attending football games, and spending time with her grandmother, whose resilience continues to inspire her commitment to public service.