Hello everyone! My name is Hanin Sharif and I am in my fourth year of undergrad at the California State University of Fullerton studying Political Science.

Being a Palestinian-American woman studying political science, I have learned that if I don’t find space, I create my own space. With that, I am in my second year being on board for Students for Justice in Palestine, which is a club on campus dedicated to raising awareness and education about the occupation of Palestine. I have organized meetings revolving around Palestinian identity, resistance, and history. I understand the importance of representation especially when Palestinian voices are often silenced. I am also part of the South West Asian North African (SWANA) Club, which is an organization committed to uplifting SWANA students on campus. Some work I have done is organizing SWANA Week, which was a week revolving around identity-building on campus. We invited mental health professionals, lead workshops about cultural identity and community engagement. 

I am so excited to be part of the National Network for Arab American Communities and work with the Arab American Civic Council to gain the essential tools to be a leader in my community. Activism and Advocacy are the things I love most and I hope to be someone the Arab community can rely on. Serving as the Transformative Leader Fellow, I aim to inspire the Arab community to discover the power they have in local, state, and national politics and to create the change they wish to see!