CHICAGO- By the time she was a 19-year-old freshman at DePaul University, Bushra Amiwala ran for public office for the first time. Only a year later, she became the first Gen Z woman to become an elected official and the youngest Muslim elected official in the United States.
Her campaign manager and head field director were also students from DePaul, and The DePaulia provided the main coverage for her campaign. Now, Amiwala is an elected Board of Education member on Skokie’s School Board.
“Growing up, I attended Skokie School District 73.5 after we moved from Chicago Public Schools,” she said. “Within a couple years of attending those schools, I was put into advanced and honor level courses. When I first started, I wasn’t even reading at the same proficiency that my peers were.”
Thus, from the impact her school district had on her, came Bushra Amiwala’s passion for education.
“When I first started at DePaul University, I came in as an education major,” she said. “I wanted to be a teacher and was actually a Golden Apple recipient at that time.”
Though her passion never changed, her major did; she ended up graduating with a major in Management Information Systems, along with a double minor in Community Service Studies and Public Policy Studies.
“I interned at a Big Four consulting firm, and at the end, I did not get a return offer, and it was the most tragic thing to have ever happened to me my junior year,” she said. “I found myself in recruiting season right before Thanksgiving time as a senior in undergrad, and I cold-applied for a job at Google.”
After graduating from DePaul, Amiwala started her full time job at Google. She worked as a consultant for five years, until she resigned to focus on managing her congressional campaign full time.
“Right now, I’m a candidate for Congress, running to represent the community I have lived in my entire life,” she said. “Every day we have volunteers…and around the district, we’ve been partnering with local organizations to build whistleblowing kits because we, along with our rapid response teams, have been organizing the initiative around ICE since February of this year, and we’re just going to keep that happening.”
Today, Amiwala has already made exceptional changes in the Skokie School District.
“We were one of the first school districts to swap out Christopher Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day,” she said. “We became the first school to mandate halal, kosher, and vegetarian food options for the students we serve.”
She also mentioned becoming the first school to ensure an accurate curriculum to represent the student population, as well as ensuring that breakfast is provided for all students before school.
“Now, I’m excited to bring that type of leadership to Washington,” she said. “It’s time for everyday people, such as myself, such as the folks that I represent, such as the people and community that’s involved in my campaign, to have a true representative fighting for them in Congress.”
Amiwala gives credit to those that came before her that lead her to an opportunity like this.
“It is so humbling in a lot of ways,” she said. “But I remind myself that I could only successfully do this because of every single Millennial and Boomer who ran before me, because of the people and the brothers and sisters that led the right for people who look like me to even have the right to vote.”
For those who want to start making a difference, she recommends a consistent habit of supporting your community.
“If that means it’s donating a penny to a non profit a day, then donate a penny to a nonprofit every single day” she said. “And if it’s volunteering for one hour on a Sunday once a week, then make sure you’re volunteering for an hour once a week.”
Amiwala encourages anyone who wants to keep in touch to reach out on socials @bushraamiwala. Visit her website at https://www.bushraforcongress.com/.
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