ABOUT ME
My name is Najla Nassar, and I am a Senior at Swarthmore College majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies and double minoring in Arabic and Global Studies. As a low-income student and QuestBridge Scholar, I am passionate about making educational and professional opportunities more equitable for first-generation/low-income minority students. Within the Inclusive Excellence Fellows program, I serve as the AlumniConnection Project Coordinator and seek to foster underrepresented alumni-student connections so minority students can better navigate professional opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, I have engaged in peer tutoring as a Writing Associate in Swarthmore’s Writing program for three years. I have also worked as a Senior Admissions Fellow in Swarthmore’s Admissions Office, assisting with the recruitment of other marginalized students, including those from first-generation/low-income backgrounds. Additionally, I have worked with refugee populations through the Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary Project and my internship at Talent Beyond Boundaries. In my free time, I enjoy watching late-night stand-up comedy shows.
GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS
EDUCATION
To pursue a Masters in Public Policy or Nonprofit Management 2-4 years within 2-4 years of my graduation from Swarthmore
CAREER
To promote human rights, social justice, and equity in my future professional pursuits in either the private or public sectors
COMMUNICATION
To improve my verbal communication skills so I can disseminate knowledge and narratives more readily to auditory learners
COMMUNITY
To spend more time with friends, family, and loved ones
WRITING
To reconnect with my inner child by returning to an old hobby that once brought me comfort and allowed me to parse through personal experiences
SELF AWARENESS
To reflect further on my own experiences to understand how I can best help others
PHILOSOPHY
Growing up in Williamstown, Massachusetts taught me the importance of education. As a low-income student, I saw pursuing a college education as a means to lift myself out of poverty. Living in close proximity to Williams College (but having no personal connection to the liberal arts institution) gave me a glimpse into the opportunities and experiences a prestigious college education could offer me. When the community-based organization QuestBridge recruited me for the QuestBridge Scholars program as a Junior in high school and guided me through the college admissions process, it not only led me to Swarthmore, but it also made me feel empowered in my socioeconomic identity and part of a national community of first-generation/low-income students.
QuestBridge continues to guide my passions, values, and beliefs even as a senior in college. In July 2019. I had the opportunity to attend the QuestBridge Scholar Summit, a celebration of 25 years of QuestBridge, where I was able to meet other QuestBridge Scholars and hear from renowned guest speakers, such as the co-founder of Linkedin Reid Hoffman and Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation David Simas.
Simas imparted wisdom which has been the major influencer of my life philosophy and guided my projects and aspirations up to this point. In his talk, he talked about the importance of paying tribute to the people that made me possible by reaching back to pull others up along with me as I climb in my personal and professional life. His words mobilized me to take a more community-based approach to my Writing Associate and Senior Admissions Fellow positions, as well as to take on DEI projects such as the AlumniConnection project. As a result, my philosophy now revolves around uplifting and empowering communities by helping them gain access to the necessary resources and experiences that allow them to gain cultural capital and climb along with me.
"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel."
