Sumaya is passionate about language and cross-cultural learning, human rights, and Afro-diasporic migration rights. She is fluent in Arabic as a native speaker, and French, after studying the language for 12 years and mastering it through her studies at Howard University, personal immersion into the language, and refining it further in her semester abroad. Her experiences include internships at the World Bank, French Embassy in the United States, and most recently, an internship at an international NGO based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Justice for Prosperity. Sumaya is also a 2023 Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellow so she will be attending graduate school for free, experience a Congressional internship and an internship at a U.S. Embassy abroad, and start her career as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer under the support of the U.S. State Department.

Sumaya studied abroad with IES Abroad on the Paris - French Studies program in Paris, France and looks forward to sharing her Afro intersectional experience and perspectives from her time abroad. Upon graduating in May, Sumaya will be attending the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy and participate in an exchange with the SciencePo Paris School of International Affairs or complete a dual degree with Johns Hopkins SAIS and Leiden University in The Netherlands. She will be a candidate for the M.A. International Affairs and M.A. Culture and Politics degrees.

Beyond a diplomatic career, Sumaya aspires to be based abroad and work on human rights issues in international organizations and in the UN, while also continuing to promote education abroad, particularly focusing on bridging the gap in the racial disparity of those who go abroad and increasing accessibility to African-American students.

Neal McKinney, M.Ed. (he/him/his) is a doctoral candidate in Educational Studies at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. His current research project primarily studies how education abroad personnel (EAPs) construct narratives of why Black and Latinx students participate in education abroad programs at a lower rate to identify potential patterns of racialized deficit-based thinking in these narratives. He aims to use his research to disrupt and dismantle racialized biases that perpetual inequitable policies and practices against all students of color’s success in higher education. He is a 2007 IES Abroad Barcelona alumnus, and previously worked as an Associate Director of Off Campus Programs at DePauw University. 

Michael Henry is a Senior Political Science Major from Fayetteville, North Carolina studying at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. He is the oldest of four, with two brothers, and one sister. Michael was an intern  at the Office of U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff in the Atlanta Office this past semester.  He serves in various capacities at Morehouse College. He serves as the President of the Student Ambassador Team. In addition, he serves as a Study Abroad Ambassador for the Office of International Education and a Prison Education Student Ambassador for the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership. He recently received the Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship Program, where he will begin his career at the State Department in Washington, D.C.

This past summer he was admitted into the Charles B. Rangel Summer Enrichment Scholar Program, and participating in the program expanded his knowledge of careers in international affairs, and also solidified his interest in working in foreign affairs. Michael studied abroad in London with IES Abroad for the Spring 2022 semester. He is well-traveled and has been to several countries such as Jamaica, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, and France. His plans after graduation are to obtain a master’s degree in Peace Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA.  

Michael has a passion for speaking and has been the keynote speaker at churches, schools, and other places/events. Being an advocate for his community  is something that he is truly passionate about, as he always strives to stay persistent and be the voice for others. Michael always goes above and beyond to support others in whichever way they may need him. Becoming a Foreign Service Officer has always been a lifelong dream of Michael’s, and he is very thrilled to have been admitted into the Pickering Fellowship Program and is excited to see what the future holds.