Selected as a Soros Fellow!

Incredibly honored to have been selected as one of 30 recipients for the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. I want to start by thanking so many amazing mentors who helped me on this journey and a huge shoutout to God and my parents for always standing with me. Here’s a short story about my journey to this award and the power of seeing others who look like you being recognized for their work:

When I first enrolled at Rutgers-Newark it did not have a fellowship department. For context, Rutgers-Newark is not a highly ranked university (#127 this year on US News) but is ranked #3 for social mobility. The school website had a small section dedicated to a few alumni. One of those alumni was an individual named Shah Ali - he had graduated from Rutgers-Newark gone on to Stanford Medical School and won the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship. Funny enough, Shah also went to the same high school I did, McNair Academic in Jersey City. I immediately decided that I would shoot for this award - one that seemed to be awarded almost exclusively to those in the Ivy League.

Fast forward to 2021 - I was elected the president of the Jersey City Board of Education and enrolled at Harvard Law School. I thought I had done all the things necessary to be competitive for a PD Soros Fellowship. It was something I had wanted at this point for over 6 years. But lo and behold, I wasn’t even selected for an interview.

Later in 2021 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. But as I sat and reflected - I realized I was doing exactly what it is that I wanted in life. Serving others and improving my community. This award isn’t a personal one - it’s dedicated to the community that stood behind me through everything. Thank you.