About The Scholarship Award
Purpose: Recognize and award Arab-American university students who excel in Media Studies.
Scholarship Award Amount: $5,000
Established 1997
118 previous scholarship recipients!
Eligibility: University students enrolled in the September 2027–2028 academic year. Juniors, Seniors and Graduate School students majoring in Journalism, Television, Radio and/or Film.
The 2026 cycle is closed. Applications for 2027 will be announced.
Application Instruction
Mail and include the following items to ADC’s Research Institute c/o ADC V.P. Nabil Mohamad.
Two letters of recommendation signed by your Mass Communications professors.
Print copies and/or email links of your relevant work.
Share how Dr. Jack Shaheen’s work has influenced you (Note: Dr. Shaheen’s Arab Stereotype Collection is at NYU). Include this in your one-page statement explaining your goals.
State that you are a U.S. citizen of Arab heritage.
Confirm what year you will be in 2027–2028 year (Jr., Sr. or Graduate School). If attending a different university in 2027–2028, please attach acceptance letter and verify you will attend.
Submit official academic transcripts (minimum 3.5 GPA is required).
Permanent home address, mobile number, and email address.
Application Deadline: April 10, 2027.
ALL 7 of the above requirements MUST be in your application. Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted. The above requirements are firm. Please do not apply unless you meet all requirements. Thank you.
Submit All Materials To:
ADC Research Institute
Attention: Mr. Nabil Mohamad – ADC Vice President
910 17th NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Should you have further questions, call (202) 244-2990 or email [email protected].
Dr. Jack G. Shaheen Scholarship Awards will be presented at a 2027 ADC event.
Congratulations to the Recipients of the Jack Shaheen Mass Communications Scholarship!
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is proud to honor seven inspiring Arab American storytellers who are challenging dominant narratives and uplifting their communities through journalism, film, and media.
The Dr. Jack G. Shaheen Mass Communications Scholarship recognizes Arab American undergraduate and graduate students who excel in media studies, including journalism, television, film, and radio. The scholarship is offered in honor of Dr. Jack Shaheen (1935-2017), an author, lecturer, and media critic who wrote the award-winning book and documentary, Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People.
Shaheen's work focused on racism and Orientalism, particularly in Hollywood and popular culture, and described his life’s work as "dedicated to trying to humanize Arabs and Muslims and to give visibility to American Arabs and American Muslims — to have us being projected no better, no worse, than anyone else."
2026 Recipients
Sara Abdelghany
A Floridian of Egyptian descent, Sara is a Master's student in the American Studies department at George Washington University. She works at the intersection of media studies, Arab American studies, Muslim American studies, and Islamophobia studies to examine themes of race, representation, and diaspora in American popular culture. Her current research project focuses on representations of Muslimness and Arabness in Ramy Youssef's #1 Happy Family USA (2025).
Miriam Alrahil
Miriam Alrahil is a Lebanese-Syrian American journalist pursuing a Joint M.A. in Global Journalism and Near Eastern Studies at New York University. Working across English, Spanish, and Arabic, her reporting explores migration, environmental activism, and the historical and contemporary connections between the Middle East and Latin America. Through documentary and multimedia storytelling, she seeks to challenge reductive narratives about Arab communities permeated in both the United States and Latin America.
Abraham Jaafar
Abe is a Lebanese American undergraduate student at Michigan State University studying public policy and digital storytelling. He is passionate about telling stories that reflect Arab experiences in authentic ways, especially at a time when those stories are often misrepresented or erased. Abe hopes to combine his interests in policy and filmmaking to challenge negative portrayals and create space for more honest representation. In the future, he plans to attend law school and eventually start a production company that supports Arab creators and filmmakers.
Alya Khoury
Alya Khoury recently graduated from Emory University with a degree in Anthropology and Human Biology. This September, she will begin a master's degree in the Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting program at NYU's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism. She is passionate about making science accessible through journalism across multiple formats including writing, photography and video. Alya is particularly committed to expanding global representation in science reporting. She hopes to spotlight the work of international scientists, especially those from Arab countries and her home country of Lebanon.
Hannah Raslan
Hannah Raslan is a Syrian-American multimedia journalist whose work centres the stories of the Arab world too often overlooked by Western media. She is currently a producer at Al Jazeera English, reporting on Syria's post-Assad transition, Latin American politics, and human rights accountability. This fall, she will pursue a master's degree in documentary film at Columbia Journalism School.
Mohamad Rimawi
Mohamad Rimawi is a Palestinian-American journalist based in New York City. He is currently a graduate student in New York University's Global Journalism and Near Eastern Studies program. His writing has been published in The Nation, Foreign Policy, Amwaj and PassBlue, and his audio work has been featured in Bloomberg's radio and podcast programs. Rimawi's reporting has covered topics including Middle Eastern politics, Lebanese television, Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration, and pro-Palestine campus activism.
Karla Stephan
A Lebanese and Syrian American activist and media-maker, Karla recently completed a BA in Sociology, Communications, and Middle Eastern Studies at McGill University. At CKUT, McGill's radio station, she hosted a show using radio and digital media to amplify underrepresented voices, music, and stories in the Montreal community. She has interned at the Arab American Institute and the American Task Force on Lebanon, and has organized around climate justice, racial justice, and Palestinian rights using grassroots media as a tool for narrative accountability. This fall, she will begin her Master's degree in Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, where she hopes to pursue political communications and information justice, amplifying Arab American stories that challenge stereotypes and reshape global narratives.
2025 Recipients
Sarah Al-Arshani
A journalist committed to global storytelling, Sarah is pursuing a master’s at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, where she will study journalism and international relations. Since graduating from the University of Connecticut with a BA in journalism and political science, Sarah has worked as a breaking news reporter for Insider and USA Today and interned at The Jordan Times in Amman.
Sofia Kasbo
A senior journalism major at Seton Hall University and Managing Editor of The Setonian, Sofia is a passionate advocate for student press rights. She has reported on breaking news, protests, and small business features, and has written op-eds on topics such as body positivity. As President of Seton Hall’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter, she leads with a strong commitment to supporting student journalists.
Mariam Bagdady
An Egyptian-American writer and journalist, Mariam is dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Communication, with an emphasis in law, and has worked with social impact organizations through the Goldhirsh Foundation, as well as freelanced for publications including Flaunt, Atwood Magazine, TMZ, and The Daily Nexus. Mariam will continue her journalism journey at Northwestern’s Medill School, where she plans to focus on stories that center Middle Eastern, BIPOC, and Indigenous communities.
Yezen Saadah
A Palestinian American student at NYU, Yezen is studying cinema studies, Middle Eastern studies, and journalism. He recently completed his tenure as Editor-in-Chief of NYU’s Washington Square News and contributes to Palestine Square, the blog of the Institute for Palestine Studies. Yezen’s work aims to challenge Western media portrayals of Arabs and Muslims and elevate Palestinian voices through both creative and critical mediums.
Mena Nasiri
An Iraqi filmmaker based in Michigan, Mena is driven to tell authentic and impactful stories about underrepresented communities, particularly the Arab experience. She has worked across all aspects of film production and is now focusing on documentary work. A soon-to-be graduate of the University of Michigan with degrees in Film and Media and Mechanical Engineering, Mena is passionate about challenging industry norms and brings an interdisciplinary skill set to her bold, justice-oriented filmmaking.
Leena Fraihat
A recent graduate from the University of Virginia, Leena earned her degree in Media Studies with a minor in Public Writing and Rhetoric. This fall, she will begin a Master of Science degree at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Leena is passionate about storytelling, dialogue, and social justice, and aspires to work in broadcast journalism to uplift the voices of diverse and underrepresented communities.
Christian Baba
A San Francisco native and writer, Christian is pursuing a Master’s in Narrative Writing at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. He works as a research assistant at Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center and is currently collaborating with Harvard’s FXB Center on a study of media coverage of the war in Gaza. With experience in marketing at A24 and on the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Christian now works in public affairs and community engagement for local and state agencies, bringing a creative, service-driven approach to storytelling.
About Dr. Jack G. Shaheen:
Dr. Shaheen (1935-2017) is an internationally recognized author and media critic who wrote the award-winning book and film, Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. He has consulted with the United Nations and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and has been featured on numerous national network programs such as National Public Radio, CNN, MSNBC and The Today Show.
