David O’Brien, Editor

Jude Husein, a senior political science major, is a first generation American who moved to the United States with her two siblings at the age of three from Palestine. She still frequently visits her home country where her grandparents reside. She even once taught English at a refugee camp in Palestine for three months. Not only is she a first generation American, but she is also a first generation college student who transferred to La Salle from the Community College of Philadelphia. Since herself and her family has arrived in Philadelphia, she has certainly accomplished more than some fellow residents may do in a lifetime. 

Her interest in public service stems from her mother, an active and concerned citizen who would frequently voice her opinion at city meetings. Since she was seven years old, her mother would bring her to community meetings with the zoning board, interface committees and building committees. “When I was a kid, I would constantly complain about being dragged there, but over time I really began to value it.” Over time, Jude began to slowly pay attention to these meetings and support her mother’s positions and thoughts and began to take part in the meetings herself. At 14, Jude got her first position in a community, serving as a member of the South Kensington interfaith committee. At 17, she got her first board position on the South Kensington community board. Before coming to La Salle, she served as a U.N. youth delegate at the Youth for Human Rights International Conference as one of 70 delegates. 

While Jude does enjoy the diversity of people in the classroom and hearing a variety of different viewpoints in Socratic circles, she focuses on getting an education outside of it in a more hands on way through civic involvement. “I find it’s a lot better to learn about policy through community involvement.” Currently, Jude works as the Chairwoman for Jobs and Economics for the mayor’s Philadelphia Youth Commission. She also works for two nonprofits, one of which is Caring For Friends, a nonprofit food bank, where she works as Director of Communication and Strategy. The other nonprofit she works for is the Civic Engagement Campaign for Arabic voters, which is organized by the nonprofit Al Bustan Seeds of Culture. She was once enrolled as a camper in Al Bustan’s camp program, and she serves as a project coordinator. 

When she isn’t working to improve her community, Jude spends her free time learning a variety of different skills and spending time with her siblings, who are her “mentors and best friends.” One of her most recent endeavors has been teaching herself to code from scratch. After struggling to learn at first, she eventually created her own website, judehusein.com, where she blogs and posts news articles involving Philadelphia, contact information and freelance consulting information.

While Jude certainly prefers learning mostly outside of the classroom, she does plan on seeking further education, whether that be a masters or a law degree. If you have not seen her around campus, keep an eye out, because you certainly may see her one day holding office.