Maya Salameh
- Stanford University; University of Illinois
- San Diego High School, San Diego, CA
Maya was a reserved young girl who found refuge in writing and literature for most of her childhood. However, writing soon became a vessel through which Maya raised her voice in protest of Arab Americans being unjustly labeled as terroristic threats. Maya’s poem “Arab Winter” earned her a selection as a National Youth Poet, the utmost most honor for youth poets in America, and the opportunity to recite a poem publicly for the first time at the White House. Maya served as a Student Equity Ambassador, founder and president of the Psychology Club, and is fluent in English, Spanish, Arabic, and French.
Maya graduated from Stanford University with her Master's in Sociology along with her Bachelor's in Psychology, with honors, as well as her two minors in Creative Writing and Comparative Studies of Race and Ethnicity. Her honors thesis project examined Arab American Mental Health Definitions, Symptom Experiences, and Help-Seeking Behaviors. She is pursuing her PhD in Clinical-Community Psychology with the Illinois Distinguished Fellowship at the University of Illinois. She is the winner of the 2022 Etel Adnan Prize, through which her debut poetry collection, HOW TO MAKE AN ALGORITHM IN THE MICROWAVE, will be published in October 2022.