Jayla E. Anderson is a proud citizen of New Haven, Connecticut. She participated in Citizens Thinkers Writers at Yale University in the summer of 2023, and graduated from Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School in June 2024. Jayla now attends Vassar College, and will be majoring in English with minors
John Collins is an African American from New York City. John graduated from Harlem Village Academy High School, a Full IB school, in 2024. He participated in Columbia University’s Freedom and Citizenship program in 2023. His favorite text from Freedom and Citizenship was The Death and Trial of Socrates. John
Mim Datta is of Bengali descent and was born and raised in Queens, NYC. She participated in Columbia University’s Freedom and Citizenship program in the summer of 2023 and now attends Columbia as an undergraduate. Mim plans to major in Political Science and minor in either Philosophy or Data Science.
Jemilah Dowuonah is a Ghanaian-American living in Romeoville, Illinois. She was a Freedom Scholar in the Civic Humanities Project at North Central College. Her favorite reading was, “What to The Slave is the Fourth of the July?” She graduated in 2024 from Romeoville High School and now attends Northwestern University
Mram Elhussain is a Muslim, Sudanese American and a resident of North Carolina. She was involved in the Elon Freedom Scholars program as a member of the 2023-24 cohort. The program introduced her to two autobiographies that she now considers to be among her favorites. In the fall, she will
Mohamed Elrefaei lives in East Haven, Connecticut and graduated from ESUMS high school in June 2024. He participated in Yale University’s Citizens, Thinkers, & Writers program in Summer 2023 through to Spring 2024. He currently attends Boston University and will be majoring in Data Science. He was captain of his
Cynthia Flores was born and raised in Bronx, New York, coming from a Mexican family. During the summer of 2023, she participated in Columbia University’s Freedom and Citizenship program, and in 2024, she graduated from the Urban Assembly for Applied Math and Science. One of her favorite readings in the
Ava Frederick lives in Crofton, Maryland, and she graduated from The Catholic High School of Baltimore in 2024. She participated in Dickinson College’s Knowledge for Freedom Seminar in the summer of 2023. Ava now attends Dickinson College where she plans to major in Political Science and Women, Gender & Sexuality
Nada is an Egyptian American student from Astoria in New York City. She participated in Columbia University’s Freedom and Citizenship in 2023, where her love for learning flourished, and she graduated from Manhattan Hunter Science High School in 2024. Nada now attends Barnard College as a Barbara Silver Horowitz ’55
Zoharys Jaen currently resides in Cypress, California and is a 2024 graduate of Oxford Academy. During the summer of 2023, she participated in Biola University’s Read Well, Live Well program, where she rekindled her passion for classical literature and social justice. Her favorite texts from the summer program were excerpts