Baraa

The occurrence of the 2020 election had brought a reason for conversation on the grounds of my elementary school playground. Students filled the boisterous space with opinions on the most suitable candidate fit to run the country, a topic we had so little knowledge about at the time had occupied our minds. What we considered to be talks of “politics” were notions formed by the reality we lived in confined by the sphere of limitations in occupation. Beliefs set by the conversations of our parents to one another, the chatter of older siblings and scattered noise of news playing on the tv were all the essence of what we had thought to be true.

During another one of our conversations that eventually became engraved in our minds, we were overheard by a teacher, “you shouldn't be talking about politics, wait until you’re 18.” I had been simply stunned. The bell dictating the end of our break had turned into distant background noise, and was simply appalled. Eight years in the future felt like forever inside the head of ten year old me. I knew at that very moment that I did not want the limitations of civic engagement to be a matter of age, because being well educated to participate in democratic activity should not be bound to the inaccessibility of educational resources.

Coming from a worn torn country, Syria, that had suppressed the voices of its people and condemned the opinions of the public if they were in contradiction to the widespread government propaganda, moving to the United States with its democratic freedom structure meant a new hope. However, democratic participation can not be achieved without the presence of civic education that is both instilled early and accessible to youth.

As a high schooler I dedicated my time to youth advocacy, representation, and civic engagement work. I serve on my school’s student site council and student advisory council where I get to represent my peers discussing improvements for campus activity, involvement, and quality of attendance. I am also a member of my district’s student advisory council, being the sole representative of 1,500+ students and an advocate for my peers on campus. I have been serving as the class of 2028 president for two consecutive years, helping the club grow by 100% in engagement. I led the class in multiple campus based events, activities, and dances helping increase school pride among the class.

The initiation of my school's first Speech & Debate team is an accomplishment that I am extremely proud of. As a founding member, and vice president of speech, I have taken great effort into building the basis of the club as well as seeking out ways to promote it in hopes of expansion. As a competitor I dedicate a large portion of time to practice; developing my communication, presenting, and critical thinking skills.

Furthermore, I took part in an internship at TurnUp activism from September of 2025 to June of 2026, completing a variety of assignments that involved educational reforms, criminal justice issues, and civic participation outreach. I was able to develop stronger presentation, communication, and collaboration skills that I applied to my interactions with my peers. Having the extended Baraa Issa exposure to means of civic engagement I hosted my school’s first voter registration drive; educating students on the impact of early civic participation and the impatience of voting.

Initiating my website, Relevance Lens, I had one goal and it was to provide a youth audience with access to political, technological, and news related materials in an unbiased manner. The website has 250+ readers that can enjoy works on understanding differences between political parties, how to register to vote, and the status of current societal issues.

Having my personal passion project has allowed me to curate specific content that I see fit in impacting youth positively. The inspiration to start my own website began when I took a Leadership in the Digital Age course at the UCSD school of Extended Studies where I got to build a prototype website geared at mass educational resources. Along with my leadership course I also took an Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT and Microscope Biology classes that allowed me to further my knowledge on subjects that I am passionate about. Taking these courses allowed me to further my academic standings outside the 4.6 weighted and 4.0 unweighted GPA I hold under my school set curriculum.

To further expand on my interests I conducted a Youth Impact Assessment research project titled “The Impact of Policy Interventions on the Opioid Epidemic in the U.S,” under a SDSU internship program. I got to analyze policy effectiveness on the opioid epidemic and build foundational knowledge on public health and addiction prevention strategies. My goals for the two upcoming years of high school are to be ranked first in my class, earn 4’s and 5’s on my AP exams, and score well on the PSAT and the SAT. I also hope to continue developing an app that would offer translation of legal documents in multiple languages dedicated to my local community. The website would offer an accessible way for non-english speakers or individuals who have English as a second language a way to easily understand lengthy legal documents and understand their rights.

I hope to further expand my advocacy work to reach a greater number of people. My goal is to attend Stanford university majoring in political science or public policy, on a pre-law track. Eventually attending law school to become a policy or litigation lawyer. An ABFK scholarship will help me achieve these goals by connecting me with mentors that may be professionals in the field that I am interested in, allowing me to get a better scope on what law or policy studies look like. Standardised test preparation is something that I would need help with as it is very important to me that I score well on those tests. It would also allow me to fully focus on my academic goals, hopefully attending my dream school without the financial burden that comes with education. Most importantly it would offer me with knowledge that is not accessible to me in my community that I can use for the greater good.