MENLO SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

I started at Menlo School as a freshman in the fall of 2021 after attending Castilleja, an all-girls school. Adjusting to a new environment was challenging, but one thing that stood out to me immediately was the absence of a Muslim presence on campus. Feeling this gap, I decided to create UMMA (United Menlo Muslim Alliance) and took on the role of President. The handful of Muslim students at Menlo all came together to join me.

My intention in founding UMMA was to help my classmates better understand Islam and to build a space where Muslims could be visible and understood. Many of my peers had never met a Muslim before, so I wanted to break down misconceptions and create mutual respect.

At first, my classmates struggled to understand why I practiced my faith, but I was able to bridge that gap through UMMA. We organized events like Eid lunches and assemblies during Ramadan, which allowed UMMA members to share our traditions and beliefs.

Over time, I saw first-hand how these interactions helped break down barriers. UMMA became a place for curiosity and friendship, bringing us closer as a community.

UMMA means community, and UMMA’s mission is to provide a space to cultivate community among students who identify as Muslim and educate and dispel misconceptions about Islam and Muslims among the broader community. If you identify as a Muslim, have lived in a Muslim country, want to share and learn about culture, heritage, and practice, or you identify as a Muslim ally, this club is for you.

Our activities are wide-ranging; we share stories, explore history, languages, cultures, and food. We are intense when dissecting Islamophobia and silly when sharing memes and stories about Muslim celebrities and comedians. We watch movies, explore comics, dive into books, and look at the various ways in which Islam is practiced around the world. We welcome all to join our journey of discovery as we provide a safe space for empathy and understanding.

In my sophomore year, I co-founded a group with Julie Stein, who leads the Jewish Affinity Group at Menlo. We tried to create a space where students could discuss how media bias can leave certain students feeling misrepresented. We also wanted to catalyze conversations about our political views to understand one another better.

This group became an important part of the Menlo community, especially after October 7th. Since our school avoided discussing the conflict because it was so divisive, our club became a place where Palestinian and Jewish voices were heard, and no one was judged. We tried to distill facts from biased messaging, and our conversations touched on anti-Palestinian and antisemitic sentiments and how they affect students.

Since 9th grade, golf has been a great way for me to unwind. This year, I was named Social Captain for raising morale after last year’s losing streak