Sumaya is passionate about language and cross-cultural learning, human rights, and Afro-diasporic migration rights. She is fluent in Arabic as a native speaker, and French, after studying the language for 12 years and mastering it through her studies at Howard University, personal immersion into the language, and refining it further in her semester abroad. Her experiences include internships at the World Bank, French Embassy in the United States, and most recently, an internship at an international NGO based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Justice for Prosperity. Sumaya is also a 2023 Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellow so she will be attending graduate school for free, experience a Congressional internship and an internship at a U.S. Embassy abroad, and start her career as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer under the support of the U.S. State Department.
Sumaya studied abroad with IES Abroad on the Paris - French Studies program in Paris, France and looks forward to sharing her Afro intersectional experience and perspectives from her time abroad. Upon graduating in May, Sumaya will be attending the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy and participate in an exchange with the SciencePo Paris School of International Affairs or complete a dual degree with Johns Hopkins SAIS and Leiden University in The Netherlands. She will be a candidate for the M.A. International Affairs and M.A. Culture and Politics degrees.
Beyond a diplomatic career, Sumaya aspires to be based abroad and work on human rights issues in international organizations and in the UN, while also continuing to promote education abroad, particularly focusing on bridging the gap in the racial disparity of those who go abroad and increasing accessibility to African-American students.