Mariam is 23 years and a graduate from Columbia College in South Carolina, where she studied Business Administration and Marketing. Born in Bulgaria into a Russian and Palestinian family and the child of a Christian and Muslim marriage, Mariam represents the amazing diversity of the region. She speaks English and Arabic and knows Bulgarian, Russian and Spanish. Growing up as a teenager in Gaza during the siege, she cannot return home given the current situation. It took her a year to take her place on the Hope Fund, given the difficulties of getting out of Gaza.
She honors her Dad, a psychiatrist, for helping her survive the challenges of growing up in a conflict zone, and learned from him that there is always a bigger picture than the one you see. She describes herself as a ‘Palestinian with a different perspective’, and says she looks forward to NSL and wants it to be a “life changing experience’.
As a member of the Hope Fund, Mariam has already benefited enormously from the New Story that America is allowing her to write, and she wants to add a new chapter about leadership when she comes to Washington DC on NSL.
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