"There is a foundation of respect for everyone’s ideas..."

Daniah — Class of 2009 Dhahran, Saudia Arabia

As a young Arab teenager, Daniah admits she was nervous about coming to the U.S. for high school. But when she arrived on campus, she found a welcoming oasis.

In two years she has established herself as an intellectual and diplomatic force for building bridges of understanding. She has served as president of the Young Arab and American Leaders at Andover Club and as co-president of the International Club. She is also a dorm prefect where she serves as a role model, organizer, and purveyor of sound advice.

For a research project titled Why Do They Hate Us?, she spent a summer in Jordan exploring the painful enmity between the Arab and Western worlds. Looking ahead, she and her friend Emma Goldstein '09 plan to establish an annual Arab-Israeli Co-Existence Day on campus to facilitate a dialogue based on optimism and better understanding.

"Andover has impressed me with the fact that everyone is free to speak out from their very different perspectives. There is a foundation of respect for everyone's ideas," she explains. Important lessons for a young woman who has set her sights on a diplomatic career.