“It’s so difficult to watch a place and a people to whom you are so connected suffer so much violence at the hands of international actors who have no regard for the wellbeing or livelihoods of people in the Middle East,” said 23-year-old Lebanese American and Penn alum Laila Shadid in an interview with Al-Bustan News.

Co-founder of Fenjan and former Arab America contributing writer, Laila Shadid, a Lebanese American, talks about what inspired her to launch this project at her university and the immense impact it has had on the MENA community.

Shadid emphasized the importance of “shar[ing] underreported stories with children from a young age.” One student said of Shadid’s virtual visit: “I learned that the wall was built in Palestine. I learned why the wall was built. I learned that you need to get checked by soldiers in Palestine. I enjoyed that Laila spoke very clearly and used pictures that helped explain what she was talking about.”

Twenty-nine Penn students and alumni have received grants from the Fulbright United States Student Program to pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English in one of its over 140 partner countries.

Laila Shadid is a journalist and creative writer. She is passionate about promoting understanding of the Middle East, especially Palestinian human rights. Laila is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania double majoring in Middle Eastern Studies and Sociology with a concentration in Law and Society. She is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fenjan, the university's first and only academic journal on the Middle East and North Africa. After graduation, Laila hopes to pursue a career in the Middle East and continue telling stories that need to be told.

Laila Shadid (University of Pennsylvania Middle East Center) traveled to a suburb of east Jerusalem and spent time in a refugee camp in the West Bank as part of her project Palestinian Children Under Occupation. Shadid spoke to several children in the area to better understand how they perceive Israeli occupation. “This is a human rights issue,” she said.

“We recognize 20 outstanding young Arab Americans in this initiative,” said Warren David, co-founder of the Arab America Foundation and president of Arab America. “It gives me hope to see Arab Americans in Generation Z proudly promoting their Arab heritage and making their voices heard.”

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Laila Shadid and junior Zeynep Karadeniz have taken their shared passion for the Middle East and transformed it into Fenjan, Penn’s all-new undergraduate journal on the Middle East and North Africa, which the two spearheaded and co-edited.

Penn’s first undergraduate journal on the Middle East and North Africa is expected to release its first issue by the end of this summer. Inspired by their Middle Eastern backgrounds, rising College sophomore Laila Shadid and rising College junior Zeynep Karadeniz decided to create the journal, called Fenjan.

Two time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony Shadid was perhaps the most admired of his day.

An essay, “Last Words,” by 17-year-old Laila Shadid from Massachusetts, helped her piece together a life upended by the death of her journalist father in the Middle East.