I am Palestinian American and grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I went to LSU where I quickly found my calling for storytelling, majoring in broadcast journalism with a minor in Arabic. I reported in my hometown for three years then made my trek to the cold 216, and began working for Channel 5 WEWS. My passion is to tell stories for the voices that haven't been heard, specifically those in the Arab community.

 

I'm proud to be Palestinian. Our pain has become a part of our identity, but we don't let it take away the love and devotion we have to our country. It's not just Palestinians that feel this way, we as Arabs may be stubborn, but you can't take away our loyalty to the homeland. Can you tell I talk for a living? My parents immigrated from Palestine more than 30 years ago because of the occupation and work my father did in journalism with the government. I look up to my father. In Palestine, he gave his all for his country, but at some point, he made the sacrifice of picking family over the land he grew up on. All those years ago, he dropped everything and came to the US to build a life and that helped me get to where I am today. He faced battles I could never even fathom. I wouldn't be who I am today without him.

 

When it comes to my career, Christiane Amanpour is goals to the max. Her integrity, class and quality of journalism is impeccable. Being a woman covering the Middle East she created such a name for herself. Every leader knows her credibility.

 

To the community, we are all in this together. All Arabs have faced turmoil and pain in our homeland that has brought us to America. Instead of arguing about who is worse or better, let's unite. "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." – J.K. Rowling