Hometown: San Diego, California
Why did you choose McCourt? I went to Georgetown for my undergrad and applied straight to McCourt as a senior. It made the most sense for me to stay in the system, but aside from that, McCourt seemed like the obvious choice because of the D.C. location and the expertise and opportunities that brings. Grad school is where networks are built, and I had no intention to study and build a network in a place I didn’t want to start a career in, no matter how prestigious the university (even though Georgetown is extremely prestigious and well-regarded for policy in its own right).
What professional/ work experience did you have prior to coming to McCourt? I began my MPP right after my undergrad, where I double-majored in Government and Arabic and briefly interned for Physicians for Human Rights doing research on human rights and disaster responses in Northwest Syria. I always wanted to do transportation policy, though, which I didn’t get to work on until after I enrolled at McCourt. In the summer between undergrad and McCourt, I was lucky enough to take time off and volunteered at food and clothing donation facilities.
What has been the best part of your experience so far? The freedom to explore policy issues has been amazing. Because first-year classes are very skills-based rather than subject-specific, I’ve had chances to explore all sorts of policy areas (whistleblowing in public management, healthcare data analysis, food labeling policy, etc.) and dig really deep into transportation policy. I have now written several memos and long-form papers on the topic thanks to course assignments.
What internships have you had so far during your time at McCourt? For the 2024-2025 academic year, I was an MDI Scholar at the McCourt Massive Data Institute under Dr. Amy O’Hara. I worked on privacy-enhancing technology in education, as well as data linkage projects between schools, NGOs, and the IRS to inform policy decisions. While at MDI, I got Special Sworn Status security clearance and worked in the Georgetown-Census Bureau Federal Statistical Research Data Center on the main campus. The summer after, I interned at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (the DC Metro) on the Safety Policy & Promotion team. At WMATA, I overhauled the Department of Safety’s digital infrastructure, tested pilot programs for improving safety culture, and made field visits to railyards, bus maintenance garages, and the central command center. I even got to ride in the cab of a subway in service! Everyday, I applied public management principles that I learned at McCourt in my first year.
Student organization involvement while at McCourt: None at McCourt, though I did attend events from many organizations and I feel extremely connected with my year’s student body.
At Georgetown Law, I’m a first-year representative for the Environmental Law Society, the Georgetown chapter for Law Students for Climate Accountability, and the Georgetown chapter for the National Lawyers Guild. I’m also Communications Director for the Georgetown chapter of People’s Parity Project.
Undergraduate University, degree, and major: Georgetown University, Bachelor of Arts (Government/Arabic)
Hobbies/ Interests:
Hobbies: baking (ask my classmates about my focaccia), gaming, using transit and public transportation, typing very fast, playing/running tabletop and collaborative storytelling games (think D&D)
Interests: Palestine, leftist politics, walkable cities, urban placemaking, trains, climate change, American empire, science fiction, military history, ethics, effective altruism
Reach out to me about: Straight out of undergrad, dual-degree programs, Georgetown Law, maintaining personal politics within academic institutions, food recommendations in the DMV area