Sylvia graduated from College of Charleston in 2018 with a double major in religious studies and international studies, with a focus on the Middle East. While at College of Charleston, Sylvia began studying Arabic and studied abroad for a semester in Rabat, Morocco. Shortly after graduating, Sylvia moved to Amman, Jordan, with hopes to continue studying Arabic and gain further work experience with refugee communities. After interning and volunteering with several organizations in the United States that serve refugees and immigrants, she was drawn to move beyond her own borders and explore migration and displacement from a broader global perspective since the majority of displaced people find themselves in countries bordering their own, not the United States. In Jordan, Sylvia enrolled in an intensive Arabic language course and soon after began volunteering with UNICEF Jordan Country Office with the Adolescent and Youth Development Section where she progressed to become an intern, consultant, and lastly, program associate. In this position, she managed the implementation of UNICEF's Adolescent and Youth programming in Jordan's major Syrian refugee camps. This summer, Sylvia worked as a short term advisor at the Behavioural Insights Team in London.