Fagr Aboudaka is an Egyptian spoken word poet who was born and raised in Queens, New York City. She uses her writing to share stories of and advocate for global Arab and Muslim communities. Fagr participated in New York University’s Democracy Scholars Program in the summer of 2022, further developing
David Chen Ma is a native of Mexico, but his parents are Chinese, and he is now a resident of Brooklyn in New York City. He participated in Columbia University’s Freedom & Citizenship program in 2022 and graduated from Manhattan/Hunter Science High School in 2023. Two of his favorite readings
Anny Chen grew up in Elmhurst, Queens and attended the Bronx High School of Science. She was a part of Columbia University’s Freedom & Citizenship program in 2022. Her favorite reading from the summer philosophy course was “A Talk to Teachers” by James Baldwin. Anny now attends Hamilton College where
Alice Duch was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She attended Biola University’s Read Well, Live Well summer seminar, and graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School. Alice started at UC Berkeley in the fall of 2023 and plans to pursue Earth Science. She has recently taken up rock
Tylin Khalil Dyer was born in Valdosta, Georgia, where he attended Valdosta High School and graduated in May 2023. He participated in Valdosta State University’s Knowledge for Freedom program, where he loved the program’s content and readings, most of all James Baldwin’s “A Letter for my Nephew.” He was awarded
Mike Guillen is a native to the Los Angeles area and a 2023 graduate of Long Beach Polytechnic High School. He participated in Biola’s Read Well, Live Well program in the summer of 2022 where he learned the importance of putting thoughts provoked by books about social justice into action.
Courtney Huang is from New York City. She participated in Columbia University’s Freedom & Citizenship program in 2022 and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 2023. She now attends the University of Rochester where she plans to study computer science. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, and playing
Matthew Judd, a lifelong New Haven resident, attended Citizens Thinkers Writers at Yale University in the summer of 2022. He graduated from Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School in 2023 and will be attending the University of Washington, Seattle, where he plans to major in gender sexuality studies. Outside of
Joshua Kim lives in Valdosta, Georgia and graduated from Lowndes High School in 2023. He participated in Valdosta State University’s Knowledge for Freedom program in the summer of 2022. Joshua currently attends Johns Hopkins University and plans to major in International Studies.
Lydia Kim is Korean American and resides in Placentia, California. She participated in Biola University’s Read Well, Live Well program in 2022 and graduated from Valencia High School in 2023 with a ValTech diploma. The reading that most influenced her in RWLW was The House on Mango Street by Sandra