Hi! My name is Hasti Sadri and I grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina after my parents and I immigrated from Iran to North Carolina. I am currently studying Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Moving to the US was an adjustment that I would not have gotten through without my family and my community. Through the local YMCA, I began getting involved in youth development, community organizing, and community outreach. In high school, I fostered a desire to continue in college, I joined the Refugee Support Center where I create educational content on refugees in the county and state. I also served as the social justice advocate where I worked on advocacy and outreach programs for my residential community and groups on campus. These programs eventually led me to SAF.
Knowing a little about the movement from living in the city that was run by tobacco growers I knew a little about the problems they faced, but SAF seemed like an opportunity for me to not only learn more but also do more. Orientation only furthered this drive in me. I was introduced to so many wonderful people from various backgrounds who all had their own stories. I am most excited to grow alongside other interns as we bear witness to each other's work.
I am excited to see the documentary and theater projects grow and develop. The work that I have heard about from the other SAFistas is something I am excited to see develop throughout this summer. Every part of orientation energized me for the summer and my internship.
This summer I cannot wait to learn about the ways to organize different partners from nonprofits, the community itself, the government, and other actors into collective action towards the community that allows the community as a whole to grow in their resilience. Through my internship, I am able to explore all the intersections that takes place from environment justice to health to immigration to civic engagement to economic engagement. I will be able to develop an understanding of this process that I can develop and modify for application in my future after SAF.