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At 17, Abdullah Aljanabi has the usual interests: playing soccer, going to movies and spending time with family and friends. But he’s also taking high school and college classes simultaneously, engaging his peers in the democratic process and furthering his uncle’s legacy of service to others.
“I consider him my greatest role model.” said Aljanabi, whose maternal uncle was forced by war to leave the University of Baghdad Law School after just a year to seek asylum in the U.S., ultimately picking up where he left off and founding a nonprofit legal aid and support society in San Francisco. “I cherish his story of helping others.”
Aljanabi is already creating a life that is centered on the same principles. He is dual enrolled at Macomb and Cousino High School and will receive an associate degree a year after his high school diploma. He intends to transfer to Oakland University and earn the required bachelor’s degree to enter law school. Meanwhile, he is serving as Macomb’s Democracy Fellow, part of the national Campus Vote Project, providing his peers with the knowledge they need to participate in the election process, and serving as president of the Civic Engagement Alliance, a new student organization at Macomb. He also attends national conferences with fellows from other colleges across the U.S. and is invited to events that impact high school and college students, including the recent signing of a state bill to allow 17-year-olds to preregister to vote.