Kenny

Greetings, I’m Kenaz. I’m a student living in Athens, GA. I am a fan of technology, travel, and fitness. I’m also interested in martial arts and skiing.

You might have noticed my unfamiliar name. My mother named me after a close companion of the Prophet Muhammad. She read about it in her dad's personal library, in the country of Syria.

I am proudly born and raised in the U.S.; however, I traveled to Syria many times during my upbringing. My Arab-American identity is a big part of who I am today. I am passionate about global politics and foreign policy as a result of the Syrian war that has devastated the country since 2011.

Growing up with the Syrian perspective has brought a great deal of humility to me, and I hope to spread that among non-first-generation Americans. I have witnessed Americans' opinion of our country flux over the years, and I would like to remind us all just how great the U.S. really is. It's hard because we rarely embody a perspective outside our own.

My dad worked ferociously to come to the U.S. in the early 1990s for a chance to start a better life for his family. That vigor of American exceptionalism is something I try to emulate throughout my life, because we often forget how bad it is out there beyond our borders, and how grateful we should be to preserve and protect what we have inside of them.