Alyma is a New Jersey native interested in studying International Relations and Environmental Studies on the pre-law track. Her summers spent in her grandma’s garden have made her passionate about bringing sustainable practices into urban spaces. She hopes to apply what she learns from law school towards initiatives focused on water conservation and biodiversity preservation.
At Penn, Alyma works as a tour guide in the Kite and Key Society, where she loves sharing her stories with prospective students. She is a proud first generation, low income student and loves connecting with the FGLI community through the Penn Questbridge Network and the FGLI Podcast. One of the highlights of her Penn experience was joining the Daily Pennsylvanian as an Opinion Columnist, where she is able to explore aspects of school culture while practicing her writing skills. She recently started her new role on the internal board of the Daily Pennsylvanian as the External Deputy of Diversity, Inclusion, and Standards, where she hopes to improve how various identity groups at Penn are portrayed in the newsroom. She is also currently under training as a Writing Fellow at the Marks Family Writing Center and cannot wait to start officially tutoring students next fall!
Alyma’s first introduction to the SNF Paideia Program was through her first-year writing seminar, “The Power of the Situation” with Professor Kwok. Seeing how her peers were able to engage in productive dialogue while coming from such vast backgrounds made her interested in continuing her journey with the program. She was fascinated with how naturally students were able to reflect, rebut, and form a collective understanding with each other both within and outside of the classroom. Alyma is most looking forward to seeing Penn’s diverse student population reflected in her cohort and hearing how they plan to contribute to their civic community.