For a long time, I didn’t know what route of change that was best for this world. When the reality of moving through society as a minority of any kind is so overwhelming, it becomes easy to fall into a cycle of confusion and uninformed reaction. This is especially true when marginalized communities are denied or restricted access to critical information. As a Muslim and a Palestinian, I saw this cycle repeat and replicate within my family—the fear, the frustration, and the reaction stemming from marginalization which would turn into isolation. Despite it all, I knew that couldn’t be the answer to these challenges. We couldn’t isolate ourselves further, there had to be something we could do, there must have been a way to participate even if just to make our voices heard. 

In 2024, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, but no amount of instruction could replace the value of my lived experiences with GAMVP in regard to the civic empowerment I gained and was able to spread to others. Through GAMVP, I learned invaluable information about our government and political participation that, unfortunately, you cannot learn in a classroom. This completely changed my perspective about my own place in this world. Learning about state politics, voter participation and suppression, and our rights in our political system guided the route I was desperately trying to find. Even when it all feels like it’s at a collapse, community stands for something. 

Community is an indispensable resource which is critical in our religious tradition. In a time where division is rampant globally, community is the one thing we cannot lose. 

At GAMVP, our main focus is to foster and empower that community by spreading knowledge about our political system and how we can most effectively participate in it. Part of this is to encourage people to overcome the misconceptions we have about our voting rights and the power of our vote, especially at the local level. I’ve come to realize that many of the issues that I cared so deeply about were impacted at a local level, despite me distancing myself from political participation initially. As a field organizer, that is what I try to help people understand. Even if you feel powerless voting, there are so many other ways to engage politically including with your vote in your city, county, and state elections. Voting is a cornerstone of civic engagement, and further political education can truly empower our communities. 

Ultimately, my journey has shown me that engagement, no matter how big or small, is the key to change. Isolation may feel like the safest response to systemic marginalization, but it only reinforces the barriers that keep us from shaping the world we want to see. We’ve all heard that knowledge is power, but really, knowledge is the basis to any  solution for change. Civic empowerment is not just about casting a ballot—it’s about understanding the systems that shape our lives and using every tool at our disposal to make our voices heard.