Janna Ramadan is a first-generation Palestinian and Muslim American and first-generation college graduate from East Boston, Massachusetts. At Harvard, she joint concentrated in Government and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Modern Middle Eastern Studies). Her senior thesis explored Palestinian diaspora identity formation through language acquisition, neighborhood demographics, travel abroad, and political activation. She is deeply passionate about public service and issues of discrimination and human rights, grounded by her lived experiences as the oldest daughter in a single-mother household and a first-generation American.
At Harvard, Janna was involved in public service, international relations, and affinity group programming. She served as President of the Institute of Politics, the largest undergraduate student organization with over 1,300 members across 16 programs. In her role she led new public service funding initiatives and programmatic expansions. She also served as a member of the International Relations Council Board of Directors, Political Action Chair for the Society of Arab Students, and External Director for the Harvard Islamic Society. Alongside her Harvard engagements, Janna prioritized staying involved in her local Boston community, leading the Muslim Americans in Public Service Massachusetts chapter and launching local voting and census participation initiatives among Arab Americans. In her free time, she dabbled in dance with Harvard’s Expressions Dance Company.
At Cambridge, Janna will pursue an MPhil in the Sociology of Marginality and Exclusion as the Lt. Charles H. Fiske III Scholar at Trinity College.