Navigating two cultures, Laila Mamdouh brings her dual identity to campus by bridging different communities and perspective.
In the soft shade of the olive trees in the AUC gardens, you can often find Laila Mamdouh reading, studying and taking in the fragrant flowers. Mamdouh is a long way from Boston, where she grew up, but studying at AUC has been an essential step in connecting her two worlds as an Egyptian American. Now a political science junior, she carries that sense of connection through everything she does, from her studies to her internships and cocurricular activities.
“As an Arab American, my identity is unique. I can fit into different communities and use my perspective to bridge them,” she explained. Mamdouh takes this perspective into all parts of her life in both Cairo and Boston, actively linking her two homes.
“I became a student ambassador so I could connect with everyone, from potential students to the Board of Trustees, and share my story."
Mamdouh’s journey began in high school, when she attended AUC’s summer boot camp. She quickly fell in love with not only the AUC campus but also the conversations she had with her Egyptian peers, realizing how much she wanted to connect with her roots. Attending AUC would help her achieve this goal. “I had a really strong belief that I was gonna get into AUC, so I booked my tickets before I even got my acceptance letter,” she said.
When Mamdouh first arrived in Egypt, the pace and richness of what surrounded her made it difficult to focus on just one thing. Drawn to everything, she explored widely and ultimately narrowed down her choice of major to political science. Part of that decision was shaped by how distinct she found the field in the region. “There is a lot of consensus in the United States, especially where I grew up, whereas in Egypt, there is so much diversity of opinion. My eyes have been opened to so many possibilities that I wouldn’t see anywhere else in the world,” she said.
Through her coursework at AUC, Mamdouh has focused on Egyptian history, helping fill gaps in her understanding as someone raised abroad. “Studying in Egypt makes me feel like I’m in the hub of everything.”
Mamdouh brings her dual identity beyond the classroom and into her professional pursuits, interning at the digital publication Arab America, based in Washington, D.C., which covers Arab-American culture, history and politics. “I get to write about political science and identity from the lens of being both Egyptian and American,” she explained. She covers topics ranging from Egyptian-American relations to cultural identity. “I wrote one article about how I can crave Chipotle and shawarma at the same time. It's like a puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit in the American or Arab puzzle, but that just means I get to be my own piece. There’s a beauty in that paradox.”
"People think these worlds are opposed to each other, but there are more similarities in Egyptian and American cultures than you might think."
Mamdouh quickly embedded herself in campus life, leading tours, serving as director of student engagement at the Political Science Student Association and rising from student ambassador to program leader. “I became a student ambassador so I could connect with everyone, from potential students to the Board of Trustees, and share my story. I love giving tours and showing off my favorite parts of campus, which of course include the gardens.”
That instinct to connect extends beyond AUC’s walls, shaping how Mamdouh thinks about what comes next. “I would like to work at the International Court of Justice or in the United Nations so I can bridge those two worlds,” she said. For her, those worlds aren’t as distant as they might seem. “People think these worlds are opposed to each other, but there are more similarities in Egyptian and American cultures than you might think. I want to be in a position where I can make a meaningful difference for people.”
Drawing on her experiences and passion, Mamdouh hopes to take hands-on roles, alongside leaders and pioneers, working at the intersection of her North-African Arab and American identities.
In the meantime, if you pass by the gardens on a sunny day, you might just find Mamdouh taking in the serenity of the waterfall, preparing for her next campus tour — and for a future spent bridging worlds through politics.