Senior Naaima Mahmood has spent the past year immersing herself in an important and often overlooked issue of what life looks like for people after incarceration. Through interviews with formerly incarcerated women and men, she has been listening to their stories and documenting the barriers they continue to face, from housing insecurity to limited job opportunities.
For Naaima, this project is about more than research. It’s about challenging assumptions and helping others to see beyond the surface. “I want people to look beyond their bubble of privilege,” she explains. “I can’t do much at 16, but what I can do is get the word out and have people question their own privilege.”
This summer, Naaima’s work reached a wider audience when her first published piece appeared on the Center for Interfaith Cooperation’s website. In it, she shared the story of one of the people she interviewed, shining a light on her resilience as well as the systemic challenges she continues to face.
This school year, Naaima will continue her work through an independent study. She plans to expand her interviews, refine her storytelling, and keep searching for ways to amplify voices that are too often silenced.
We are proud of Naaima’s passion, empathy, and determination, and we can’t wait to see where her commitment to this work leads next.
Read her first published piece here.