ISSA INTERN

Ruzanna Gaboyan is currently a sophomore at Mayfield High School. Ruzanna is originally from Armenia, and she moved to the United States at the age of 14. She is the Vice President of Equalistic Dream for Hope Club, a youth-led club meant to to highlight the importance of cultural awareness in education and advocate immigrant…

ISSA Youth Program Trainee

Punam Subba is currently a student at Advance Technology Academy of Cuyahoga Community College. She was born and raised in a refugee camp of Nepal. Punam came to America at the age of 10 with her family in late 2014. She is one the current vice president of a student run led organization called Equalistic…

ISSA INTERN

Joy Holmes is a rising junior at the University of Washington, majoring in psychology. Born and raised in Washington she grew up with several close friends whose families had immigrated to the United States. Inspired by their stories Joy joined the student organization, International Unity Initiative (IUI) in 2020. Over zoom, she got the opportunity…

ISSA Community Partnership Outreach Trainee

Sujing Chen is a rising senior at Charles F. Brush High School. She is the founder of Equalsitc Dream For Hope, a club that makes an impact on immigrant and undocumented students as it gives spread information about problems that these students encounter; and the way that schools can change to let these students have…

ISSA INTERN

Yu Chen is currently a sophomore at Charles Brush High School. I was born in North Carolina; however, both of my parents are from China. He is an IT specialist and Social Meida supporter in the Club, Equalistic Dream For Hope. Equalistic Dream for Hope is a club that wants equality for immigrants in schools…

ISSA INTERN

My name is Rehan and I am doing Diploma in IT Project management from University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I am certified Project management professional (PMP) from Project management Institute (PMI), PA-USA I am currently working with ISSA as an Intern on Riipen Youth Program Project for creating career workshops on software development for new…

ISSA INTERN

Emily Assef is a junior at American University in Washington, DC, where she is studying Sociology and Education. Though not an immigrant herself, Emily comes from a family of immigrants from several different places like Egypt, Pakistan, and Germany. As a high school student, Emily participated in multiple mission trips led by her hometown church…

“Christine Wincentaylo is a Bilingual Social Work student at Grant MacEwan University in Treaty 6 Territory, known as Amiskwaciywaskahikan (Edmonton). She is the founder of A Tin A Day (ATAD), which is a non-profit created in early 2020, which focuses on Mental health and sustainability.  Christine has experience with implementing toolkits for mental health resources and youth engagement. She…

ISSA VOLUNTEER

Elena Tran is currently a junior at Plano East Senior High School. She is the founder of PeshCulturallyUnited, a youth-led initiative aimed at embracing cultural diversity at her school. In her spare time, she works at Mathnasium and volunteers as a junior assistant teacher at a local church. Her passions include playing the piano, reading,…

ISSA VOLUNTEER

Rachel is currently a veterinary student at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. Originally from China, Rachel came to the US for college when she was 18. As an international student, she understands the challenges for immigrant high school students whose first language is not English to build network, find resources for their…